


Hail The Prince of Demons

by FadedNobody



Category: Ao no Exorcist | Blue Exorcist
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Forced Bonding, Good Ol'Fashioned Slow Burn, Heavy Petting, M/M, Rin is a dork, Ryuuji is an asshole, This is gonna get dark, Tutoring, Yaoi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-31
Updated: 2018-09-07
Packaged: 2019-03-11 18:19:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 33,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13529916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FadedNobody/pseuds/FadedNobody
Summary: Raised in Gehenna and bred for destruction, all this demon wanted to do was be like everyone else. Why was that too much to ask for?





	1. Of Silver Tongues and Firelight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you would prefer to skip the fluff I place the writing summary at the bottom of each chapter. Read in record time!
> 
> Also in search of a Beta!

A harsh cold wind blustered outside, Snow and ice like daggers as it whipped through the air. Snow blanketing the ground in thick layers and occasional lumps. The trees even shook from the cold as the ice that had caked their branches and pine needles was whisked away by the wind. A great contrast to how the inside was, just a short distance away in a small cave in the wall of a bluff. The wind jsut outside the entrance was slightly calmer than it was high above, the small meadow of snow was protected by the steepness of the bluffs walls. It was warm and smelled slightly of blood, but it was of no real concern. A fire crackled and popped in the cener of the little cave, lighting the pale stone and dirt walls with a slight yellow orange hue. Two long shadows stood over one corner of the cave, where the woman lied unmoving on a bed of soft plush furs and cloth.

One an exorcist, the other a demon. They stood over a pale woman, a freshly made mother of two rather cute little twins. One, already spotted with a few freckles and a small patch of dark hairs atop his small and slightly damp head. The mother obviously had taken care of the delivery herself, as the babies were a tad wet with blood still as they wriggled in their hastily wrapped blankets. The other child however was the center of attention. His small chubby body though significantly paler than his brother, was wreathed in blue fire. Though the flames did not burn him, they meant something far worse. An inheritance.

"So you are going to kill them are you?" The demon asked, his get up was odd, as his method of dress always was. A white top hat, odd clown shorts with striped purple leggings, an umbrella of all things and bright purple hair to accent forest green eyes. He grinned cheekily at the human beside him, demonic fangs bared though not in an unfriendly manner.

The human stilled, glasses sliding down his nose just a tad, his dinky little cross glasses string jingling sightly as he pushed them back up his face. Fujimoto grimaced at the thought of killing babies, but it was in his job description to do as the Vatican demanded. The black coat crinkled as Fujimoto crossed his arms, and he let out a sigh, his cigarette nearly blowing from his lips as he looked to the ceiling, as if asking God what would be best to do in this situation.

At his hip and gathered specifically for this mission, was the great demon slayer of swords, the Koumaken. A beautiful deep cobalt sheath, protecting the ancient sword during its inactive moments. The sword had slayed many demons, most legendary of its time was the Impure King, for which the Koumaken had been used to slice the Kings very heart in two thus saving all of Japan. Fujimoto frowned, as he received no acknowledgment from above. "Orders are orders Mephisto, you are lucky the Vatican does not turn on you for all of your shenanigans."

To be honest, Fujimoto did not want anything to do with such a mission. Killing children was not very high up on the Vaticans' list of things to do, and killing babies was even lower. However this pair of twin babes made top of that list, the two darling little pasty skinned twins were the newborn sons of a great and powerful demon. In fact, the greatest and most powerful of all demons, the God of Gehenna: Satan. Fujimoto could not help but think back to the last time he had seen Yuri, the teenage woman finally becoming an adult only to be possessed by Satan himself. Fujimoto did not know the details, only that she housed the god of Gehenna in her body for several months before he impregnated her. Of course the Vatican had wanted her killed, but nothing came of it. Just more destruction and negativity. Even now as he rested his gloved hand on the hilt of the Koumaken, there was only more destruction. Yuri had died moments after Fujimoto had arrived, searching after the heavily pregnant woman in a blizzard of all things. Her final words were ones of love for the two bundles in her arms, telling Fujimoto their names before she had slipped away peacefully.

And now once again to try to end the cycle of destruction there had to be yet more death. However before Fujimoto could even twitch the proper muscles to draw the sword and finish his mission; the small sputtering fire came roaring to life. The flames grew tall and wild, their previously warming yellow orange haze morphing into a cold bright blue. The two had to step back to avoid getting burned. The flames licked the sides of the cave briefly before settling down, and in the flames a face of fire glared at Fujimoto, though the features was rather distorted the flue fire itself was all that was needed to tell who exactly it was. "You dare try to kill my offspring? Foolish human!"

Fujimoto turned his attention from the newborns to the flames of Satan that burned before him. "Satan! How dare you show your face here. It is your fault that Yuri was killed!" Fujimoto drew the sword now, the blade glinting brightly in the fire light.

"Now now lets not get hasty here! Perhaps we can work something out without violence." Mephisto grinned at Fujimoto, "You don't want to kill them anyways, why not just let Satan take care of them? They are his children after all."

Fujimoto stared at Mephisto with an incredulous look, "It doesn't matter whose children they are, they have been ordered to be killed by the Vatican and I have to follow through or it will be my head they have instead!"

Satan rolled his eyes, "The Vatican and its attempts against a god of all things is futile, foolish exorcist, and _you_ are unworthy to even carry my blood in you." Satan eyed the two babes and grinned at the sight of the one burning up in a soft little blue fire.

Mephisto laughed off the stab of his fathers distaste of him, however kept his eye on the ever excitable Fujimoto. "How about this Shiro-san, you don't want to kill them anyways, why not let Satan take the child he obviously wants, and you keep the other one? A proposition!" He clapped his hands together gleefully. "You, Shiro-san, raise your boy to be the greatest exorcist of all! Great enough to defeat any demon across Japan, no the world even! While Satan takes his favored child back to Gehenna."

Fujimoto seemed intrigued had never had the time to settle down and make a family, much less find a single woman to call his own. This would be a much more... opportunistic method of going about that, as well as keeping his doors open.

"I only want the boy which carries my blood." Satan glared at Mephisto, he did not push the subject, knowing that the King of Time was a sly fox with the most silver of tongues, Satan would get his one way or another. "Do what you wish of the other one."

Fujimotos lips pressed into a thin line of thought and irritation, he knew he would be chewed out if the Vatican ever found out, but if the normal looking twin was indeed normal after all then all would be well. Sheathing the Koumaken he leaned down to pick up the squirming bundle of freckles. "Yuri had already named them. That boy is Rin, and this is Yukio." The babe in his arms wriggled a little more and then settled, whimpering slightly.

"Rin hmm? Whatever she wished.." Satans voice was fainter as he spoke of his now deceased lover. He grinned toothily at the blue flamed babe named Rin and the little sausage of a boy gave a toothless smile in return.

However Fujimoto was not done as his mind wrapped around one little fact. "Hey hey, now. That boy you've got is a half demon Satan, meaning that he is half human and he will need to be in Assiah for a few days every month to keep his health up." Fujimoto eyed the little baby wreathed in flames immediately pitying the child for not being able to take him with as well. "Let him come visit his brother once a month, I promise that the Vatican will not find out about him."

Satan went quiet as he took this information into consideration, before he could speak there was an unexpected, "Eins, zwei, drei!" A snap of fingers had the little boys flames suddenly went out, slipping through the air like a snake of blue smoke and sliding into the sheath of the Koumaken. The sheath glowed blue briefly before returning to its normal state. "The boys power will be locked into Gehenna, unless this demon sword is drawn of course. That way no one will know of the boys powers."

The flaming blue face smiled nastily at his son, displeased that his offspring had lost the lovely blue fire about him, however it was simply a necessary evil. "Mephisto, I will be sending Amaimon to you to retrieve the boy. Keep him afterwards if you like, he is far too comfortable here." The demon bowed deeply to the flames before leaning down to scoop up the little bundle that remained in the dead woman's arms. He spared her no words nor backwards glances as he shielded the child from the weather and both Fujimoto and Mephisto disappeared into the white bluster of the blizzard.

+T+

A loud scream could be heard for miles around. Originating from the local children's playground there were of course several concerned parents, one in particular was attempting to wrestle a black haired boy off of her own. Underneath the boys fist, looking beaten and bloodied was one of the public schools bullies. Rin was yelling and the boy was screaming and the mother was scolding, however it was an endless cycle with Yukio stood off to the side with broken glasses in his hands and some dirt and tears smudged across his face. Rins tiny little fist pumped in the air before delivering a last kick to the wailing bully beneath him as he was suddenly grabbed from the woman and held off his feet.

"Rin! Apologize to that boy right now!" Fujimoto lectured the little half demon.

"He broke Yukio-kuns glasses! Hes a bully from school too!" Rin glared back at Fujimoto with all the menace a little five year old could. With the sword sheathed all the little half demon had to do was keep his tail tucked, easy enough to do with a bit of exercise tape. However it didn't stop the locals from calling the boy a demon. His behavior seemed to say it all.

Fujimoto looked to Yukio, who was stood off to the side sniffling quietly in his blindness. In his hands were his bent and broken glasses. He looked away when Fujimotos eyes caught his and immediately began running away back towards the monastery. Rin yelled after his twin, tail twitching under his shirt as it tried to break free, however the tape held fast. Fujimoto Set Rin down and forced him to face the boy. "No matter how things went, it is never 'OK' to hurt anyone Rin."

Rin frowned, "But Asta-Nii-san says you have to stand up for yourself and beat 'em to hell if they-" Fujimoto slapped a hand over Rins mouth.

The priest frowned at the young demon charge. "The rules here are different Rin. Now apologize and then we can go find Yukios spare glasses and get dinner started."

Rin grumbled but bowed to the mother and the bully of a child. "Sorry, but please don't break my otouo's glasses anymore." Rin glared at the ground and then as he stood up broke away from Fujimotos grip and ran after his brother. His little legs flailing as he ran, once he spotted the monastery he ran faster, skidding around the corner and into the small gated yard before he was pushing the doors in and slamming them shut behind him. Immediately he griped about his tail being taped, yanking off his shirt and shorts until he was just in his little underwear and socks peeling the tape from his sides and off of his tail. Pulling his shorts back on he ran about the room sniffing for Yukio.

A toothy grin split the boys face as he ran over to a confession booth tail wagging and curling as he plopped onto his knees to sit outside the door. He knew it was locked, Yukio would always lock himself somewhere when he was upset. The grin slowly faded as Rin sat there patiently, staring at the door. He could hear Yukio sniffling on the other side of the door, and could smell the salty tears his twin cried.

Rin smiled brightly and quietly began to hum a familiar tune. Koinobori. He had learned it from Fujimoto-san a few months ago during his brief stays with his twin. Surprisingly Rin was quite gifted in learning and was eager to watch and learn things first hand, though books and writing were a whole other task.

Yukios sniffles quieted as he listened to his twins humming. He scrubbed the tears from his face with his dusty sleeve and listened. "Yane yori takai koinobori. Ookii magoi wa otōsan. Chiisai higoi wa kodomotachi. Omoshiro Souni Oyoideru." /watch?v=sTU5xxMWJqI/

Rin smiled as he hummed the same lyrics a few times until he rested his forehead against the door. "Otouto.. come out?" He could hear Yukios shuffling as he got up off the floor and the flick of the lock switching undone. The confession booth creaked open and Rin slipped inside to hug his brother. Rin's tail wagged as he rubbed his cheek against Yukios before dragging him out of the confessional. "Yosh! Lets find your glasses Otouto!"

"Nii-chan!" Yukio whined and the two of them walked off towards Yukios room. There was a back up pair of glasses he had, the bridge had broken but Fujimoto had glued them back together and taped the bridge. Yukio hated the glasses with passion because of the bookworm look they gave him.

Unbeknownst to the little twins, Fujimoto had been watching their little interaction from afar, observing as he always did. It was so strange that such different homes could still raise a demon with a human heart. He smiled slightly and the priest crept from his hiding spot to get dinner ready.

"Oi! Dinner will be ready soon go get clean and ready! We're having Sukiyaki!" Fujimotos smile broadened at the exclamation of joy from Rin and the quiet gasp of excitement Yukio made.

Parenting was so easy sometimes.

+T+

Easy-peasy lemon-squeezy? More like difficult difficult lemon difficult.

"Fujimoto-saaan." Rin was at the priests feet, tugging on his sleeve for attention. The demons tail flicking back and forth while those massive cobalt eyes stared up at him expectantly. "What's school? Why does Otouto have to go?"

Fujimoto sighed, setting down the paperwork he had been dutifully organizing for his files in favor of picking up the demon and resting him on his hip. The boy had little concept of Assiah and all of its workings, and he was getting too big to be picked up too. However Rin insisted and those watery blue eyes just couldn't get any cuter. "Yukio-kun needs to go to school because its good for him and its fun to learn stuff."

The demon made a face, "Like from books?"

"Yes from books for example. The teacher writes on the board, and you get homework to do after school is over." Fujimoto chuckled at Rin's face as it slowly screwed up into an impossibly cute frown of distaste.

"Home... work?" Rin seemed confused and rested his head on Shiros shoulder. "What's that? Is it tasty?"

"No no, you get work and you bring it home to do, then you take it back to school the next day and the teacher checks it to make sure you did it right." Fujimoto grinned, "Sometimes the teachers give you candy if you do all the problems right."

This information peaked Rins interest as his tail suddenly stood up straight and he wiggled excitedly. "Oh? I want to go!" Rins wriggling became too much and Fujimoto had to set him back down. The demon bounced on the balls of his feet as he poked his head over the desk that Fujimoto was organizing. His blue eyes massive as he stared at the scattered papers. "So is this homework for adults then?"

Fujimoto nodded and as he put the final paper in place, rolled open the filing cabinet and slid it into an empty slot. "This is adult homework, but there is no teacher to check your work. You just have to be so good at doing it that you know you don't mess up."

Rins tail wagged lazily as he peeked over the edge of the desk and then ran off suddenly. Fujimoto blinked as his flea of a child suddenly took off. He glanced to his watch and then turned just as the door opened and Yukio walked in with his bag of school work.

"Welcome home Otouto!" Rin was right there at the door, offering to take Yukios bag -which the twin let him have. The demon then tore off to the kitchen table where he heaved the book bag onto the surface and then hopped onto a chair, eagerly digging through the papers and books.

Yukio toed off his shoes and ran after his demon brother, "Nii-san! No theyre in order! Wait!" The younger rubbed his face as he ran, smudging ink across a cheek before he pulled his bag away from Rin. Rin plopped down and stared at Yukio with huge eyes, waiting excitedly to see what this 'school' had given his brother. A few slim books were pulled out, along with a pencil and a fat red eraser.

Gasps of awe came from the demonic boy, tail twitching eagerly. "Hey! Whats homework Otouto? Can I see it?"

Yukio have his twin brother an odd look but pulled out a printed paper and showed him. "This? I have to do these math problems and then I get to read."

Rin's gasps of awe turned into a confused 'eh?' and he scooted his chair right up next to Yukios. He watched as Yukio maneuvered the graphite instrument about the paper, in child like writing he wrote several numbers, adding and subtracting a handful of problems before he set the paper aside. Another sheet of homework was pulled out and this time Yukio wrote more, not numbers but sentences.

Rin could not help it as a feeling of confusion washed over him, as his mind spun, and his stomach twisted awkwardly. He didn't know any of this stuff. Rin stared at his hands and then at the papers. He only had two days a month to spend in Assiah, the rest of his time in Gehenna was spent wrestling with demons and mouthing off to Astaroth. He never spent his time with books or pencils or anything. His heart clenched and Rin laid his face on the table, watching as Yukio scribbled on the papers. Why couldn't he spend more time up here and go to school like his brother did? He could barely read, and writing was another beast entirely. When he had begun to talk as a baby he had been mixing up words left, right and center. Being a demon straight from Gehenna there was a huge language barrier for him, even with the frequent yet brief visits to Assiah. Going from mumbling words and answering in irritated snarls or attempting to force your demonic telepathy to work with humans made Rin suddenly realize how different he was.

"Otou-san! I'm done!"

Rin lifted his head as Fujimoto came in and ruffled Yukios hair. The priest looking over Yukios homework and pointing out errors here and there. Yukio of course fixed them right away and stuffed them neatly into his bag for tomorrow. Rins heart twisted again as Fujimoto smiled down at Yukio. A look Rin had never seen before, pride, pride in someone else. Fujimotos pride in Yukio for being so diligent about his work.

Cobalt eyes shifted to the side and he stared at the table, unsure of what to make of everything. He had heard about parents, knew that Satan was his father, but the Demon Lord was rarely around. Rin shivered, and when he was around the Lord had females nearly dripping off his form. When it was just the two of them Satan was more expectant of the young half demon. Besides, Satan never looked at him like _that_.

A hand patted his back and Rin jumped with a hiss, tail curled neatly to his body while he bared his tiny claws and fangs. However before he could properly fight back Rin was picked up and hugged to a cigarette scented jacket. His tail flicking in irritation but he did not move otherwise. Later he would figure out that Fujimoto-san had hugged him, though all Rin had done in return was go limp like an opossum playing dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 1. Shiro, satan's blue fire and Mephisto at the cave with Yuri. She died and the twins are born. Satans fire demands that mephisto brings Rin to gehenna. Shiro demands the twins be killed together. Mephisto decides a wager to which of the twins will destroy eachother and either save assiah or gehenna. The twins are seperated at birth though Rin requires to be in assiah once a month to keep his human half alive. Short to a few years later when Rin makes a few longer visits and does some weird shit for fun.


	2. Of Rebellions and Acquaintances

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you would prefer to skip the fluff I place the writing summary at the bottom of each chapter. Read in record time!
> 
> Also in search of a Beta!

A hot red sun dyed the sky a foreboding orange red hue, the clouds were stained with similar such colors. Trees were withered and frail, just as the grass was a similar dry brown color. For all sake and purpose, the world looked dead, as though Ragnarok had come and gone, leaving nothing behind but a barren waste. Amidst the trees dead grass and rocks lied something inherently alive and breathing. Sound asleep as though it were, curled up on a particularly nice patch of brown foliage lay none other than the Crowned Prince of Gehenna. His ears were long and pointed, tail thick and the tip flaming a brilliant blue, though he looked about as ferocious as a kitten with his face slack with sleep. The fangs only slightly poking from between pink lips and the feral gaze was hidden by relaxed closed lids.

"Young Lord!"

The relaxed face scrunched with irritation, eyes peeling open into a glare as he sat up with a screech. "What now Astaroth? I swear if its about my room again." Leaving the threat unfinished he glared up at the curly horned demon as he stepped through the crackled bushes into the clearing.

Astaroth grinned down at the Prince and merely bowed before gesturing towards Satans Castle. "Lord Satan has requested you return home." The demon kings long black whip of a tail curled and swung lazily through the air, his red eyes peering down at Rin with a lustful gleam to them.

A gleam that Rin did not miss and found extremely aggravating. "Tch, you're just going to nanny me about my room being a mess I know it." Standing he brushed himself off and stretched, tail arching gracefully with the motion as a few bits of dry grass fell from his clothes. Glaring briefly at the smirking King of Rot Rin darted off through the trees, though he was in no real hurry to get home, being near Astaroth had lately been giving him the creeps. It was of no question that Rin was coming 'of age' especially since he had become more and more rebellious in the past few years.

Satan was sure the rebellion would soon come to a bright and fiery end.

Once he was certain he had put a decent amount of distance between himself and the horny demon king Rin slowed to a jog, and then walked lazily. Satans castle was easily within view now. Not that he had ventured too far away from it in the first place. Rin sighed as bare feet slapped against the stone path, then up stone stairs and into a clean stone hallway. Here and there were various pillars holding up the ceiling and thus the floors above. Mounted heads of beasts and demon alike were along the walls, looking more and more terrifying as one approached the throne.

A throne made of skulls horns and swords, fit for the demon god of Gehenna. Rin bent a knee, one arm resting across the bent knee while the opposite arm's hand fisted and rested against the ground as he bowed his head to his father. "Otou-sama. What do you want? I was happily sleeping you know."

A ring of blue flame sparked around Rin briefly, a flash of Satans anger. "I have had enough of your irritating behavior. Child. You will listen to me and obey without question." The distorted voice and seething glare Rin was sent gave the young demon prince chills. He could feel as the hot glare of Satan burned at his shoulders.

However Rin grit his teeth and stood, tail arching in defiance as he glared venomously back at the demon lord. "No." Fists clenched to either side of him and his body trembled with teenage rage.

Satan did not take too kindly to this and his body lit with blue fire. "No? What sort of pup are you, that you think you can defy me? I created you!"

Rin cut him off before he could say more. "I do not care _father_. I want to do something that I choose to do with my life. I do not _care_ if you order me to do something else. I won't listen." Pale arms crossed over the half-demons chest, tail lashing about behind him as he stared Satan down.

A small chuckle escaped Satan, maniacal and insane as he clutched at his face and then stared at Rin from between his fingers. "You want to do something? My ever lazy child? Ah! What a laugh that is!"

Rin blushed brightly. "What? Of course I want to do something! I want to go up back to Assiah and learn and be with my brother! You can't keep me here forever." Rin yelled and pointed at his father comically, honestly surprised that his dad was laughing at him for his goals.

Satan's laughter stopped abruptly and he leaned back into his chair. "Go up and learn huh?" Eyes tilted towards the ceiling and Satan grinned, "They would never accept you my son, after all, you bear my blood too well to hide effectively up there. They would mean to kill you if they ever found out you were my offspring. Faster yet that you have those." He gestured to Rins body, encased in the blue fire that licked his body.

Rins spirit fell slightly, but he looked to Satan with all the determination he had in him. The fire he had inside burning brightly. "I'll use the Koumaken that Mephisto gave me! I always have it when I visit Assiah to see Otouto." Rin crossed his arms again and sighed. "Besides if they do try to kill me I'll just be right back down here with you."

Satan feigned hurt. "What? You don't like spending time with Otou-sama?" He chuckled again and waved a hand, "Ah sure, do what you want son of mine, however if anything goes wrong Astaroth will be there to drag you back down kicking and screaming." Satan grinned maniacally again and then yawned, standing up to shuffle away to find something else to do. "Be sure to call sometime, Daddy misses you already." The demons blazing tail whipped behind him as Satan left his throne hall, disappearing down a branching corridor.

Rin looked up just in time to see a small cellphone flipping through the air. Catching it awkwardly he grinned in victory. Finally he was free to do as he pleased. Eagerly he flicked open the little orange cell phone Satan had tossed at him and screeched at the sight of the background image. It was of him and Satan, the occasionally over the top demon was forcing affection on his son while Rin struggled to get away. Smiling slightly he turned and tucked the phone in his pocket tail high and wagging as he eagerly looked forward to his new adventure.

Not an hour later Rin had packed a months worth of clothes into a duffel bag, his favorite manga into his backpack as well as some other unnecessary items. He was beaming as he stepped out of his room, everything he thought he needed in tow. However his good mood fizzled as he almost immediately ran into a waiting Astaroth.

The King of Rot glowered down at the Prince, however he painted on a fake grin at the boy. "So where might you be going Young Lord?"

Rin glared back and side stepped the hulking demon. "To Assiah. Its a little early but I'm going to visit my brother. Probably going to stay up there too." Blue flames skirted Rins feet as Astaroth snarled angrily. If a regular human were there to witness, they would have feared for Rin, his small human body a meager fraction of Astaroths demonic size.

Clawed hands reached for Rins bag, "You should stay here Young Lord, its not safe in Assiah."

Fire flicked its way up the King of Rots arm and he snarled in anger. The grab becoming a swipe for the smaller demon. Rin jumped aside and broke into a run, "Just fuck off Astaroth!"

The heavy hooved footfalls that chased after him revealed that no, Astaroth would not be fucking off any time soon. Rin growled at the demon chasing him, he didn't have time for this! Amaimon would be here any minute to pick him up. Growling in irritation Rin tossed his things to the ground, spinning about faster than the eye could see. The blur of motion too quick to anticipate before a small blue fist buried itself in the Kings face. The force sent Astaroth reeling, flying back several yards with his legs and tail flopping above him comically. Rin landed lightly on his feet and snarled at Astaroth, eyes wide and crazed with long white claws extending from his fingertips.

"Oh, were you busy Otouto?"

The apathetic voice came from above as well as the familiar groans and whispers of a Gehenna Gate. Rin blinked and looked up to watch as Amaimon jumped down from the small Gehenna Gate he had procured. Blood dripped from his arm but the wound quickly sealed itself up. Astaroth was beginning to come to his senses and slowly sat up, eyes spinning in his skull from the impact.

The Prince of Demons grinned and grabbed his bags from the floor, "Ah, not really. Asta-Nii misses me too much already is all." Rins grin widened as he casually gouged open his free hand, letting the blood pool on the floor briefly. Amaimon did the same and as the blood mixed it formed a decently sized Gate. The blood slipping around on the floor into an exact rectangle before it filled in and the demons and nameless faces bubbled to the surface. Normally one demon of Satans direct blood could form a small gate just large enough for one person to pencil dive through and it could only be held open for a very brief period of time, less than thirty seconds. With their combined efforts however it was large enough to fit them both as well as Rins large duffel.

Amaimon waved briefly to Astaroth before hopping back in through to Assiah, Rin offered no farewell and stepped in as well. It was like trying to walk on water, step straight into a pool as if its surface would hold you. Plunging into the gate Rin looked up as the murky blood water enveloped him, though his clothes remained dry as ever. He watched as Astaroths face appeared at the other side of the gate before the doorway shrunk shut like an eye blinking closed. The transfer was brief, and Rin found himself stepping out into an unfamiliar location, Amaimon standing to one side with his arms crossed behind his head.

"Agh, where are we? Don't tell me you took us somewhere to sight see again." Rin's appearance had changed drastically upon exiting the Gate. No longer was he wrought with fire, instead he appeared decently human. His ears though still pointed had shortened considerably, fangs and claws were just above normal and his tail tip was merely the puff of a lions tail. Speaking of which Rin immediately lifted his shirt to wrap the appendage around his torso.

Amaimon looked to Rin in boredom and then shook his head, arms lowering to pull a lolly from his pocket. "No. Its just that Mepphy told me to bring you to him instead of to your brothers place."

Rin looked crestfallen. No way would he trade one baby sitter for another. He just wanted to hang out with Yukio; make up for all the time he had missed out on while they were growing up. Gritting his teeth he bit out, "Fine, but after that I'm going to see Yukio! No way any of you can stop me."

The Earth King seemed utterly disinterested and merely led the way; happily obsessing over the candy in his mouth flicking the stick this way and that before the wedge of hardened sugar got comfortable. They had stepped out into the alleyway of a large city of some sort. The buildings were tall and interconnected, occasional elaborate arch ways would connect levels here and there with tall towers like out of a castle placed randomly. Rin rolled his eyes and merely looked around. He had been only slightly concerned how he would appear in Assiah, what with no shoes, some blood on his sleeve as well as bruises about his knuckles. The full to the brim bags on his back clearly said he was essentially homeless.

However no one batted an eye at the demon, in fact there were many people around his age with all of their belongings in a bag and seemed to be headed in about the same direction he was going. They did however travel in small groups, and as they noticed he wore no shoes and was spattered with some blood, the females gasped and gossiped about him while the males looked at him disapprovingly. Rin grit his teeth but kept pace with Amaimon.

"So, Nii-chan. Why am I here? Aside from Mepphy asking of course."

Green eyes glanced to blue, an obvious irritation at Rins familiar tone. "Nii-san will tell you, I am only here to show you where to go." A long suck on the lolly followed by silence and the many footfalls of the people around him.

Fortunately Rin did not have to suffer the silence for long as they entered one of the buildings and headed up several flights of stair. An elaborate door was in the middle of the connected hallway and Amaimon nearly skipped toward it. The Earth King flung the doors open, regardless of what was happening inside. "Nii-san! I brought him just like you asked."

Mephisto seemed slightly irked, his mouth drawn in a tight line as he glared at Amaimon. "Sorry Fujimoto-san. I was just about to bring this up anyways."

Rins face split into a grin as his eyes met Fujimotos. "Hey!" He couldn't help it as his tail twitched under his shirt in happiness. "It's been forever!" Rin dropped his bag and immediately ran over to hug Fujimoto, the man accepted the affection but did little to return it. Regardless Rin nuzzled against Fujimotos uniform and then pulled away a bright smile on his face. "So if you are here then Yukio is too right? What are you doing at the school?" Rins smile brightened and his eyes lit up. "Do you live nearby? Man, I can't wait to see everyone again!"

"Silence yourself youngest brother. Fujimoto here, is the Paladin of the True Cross Exorcists." Rins expression faltered and he glanced between the two nervously. "Yukio is a teacher for new students at the Exorcist Cram school. Of which you will be attending." Mephisto sent Fujimoto a look. "That is if Fujimoto-san will allow."

Rins jaw dropped and he stared at Mephisto then up at Fujimoto. He could be like everyone else and go to school? Make real friends and everything? Fujimotos gaze hardened as he watched the Son of Satan -the Prince of Demons mind you- positively beam, stars in his eyes and the adorable child-like blush of excitement. Suddenly Rins kitten huge eyes turned on him with all the excitement in the world. Fujimoto tried hard to not let his composure fall.

This the Son of Satan, raised by Satan himself. All he wanted was to go to school? A small smile lifted the corners of his mouth and Rin gasped. "There will be rules." What kind of madness was that huh?

Rin nodded eagerly, his tail slipping free of his shirt to wag around. Mephisto clapped his hands together gleefully and then stood, pulling out the Koumaken from behind his desk and tossing it to Rin.

Fujimotos glasses glinted as he pointed at Rins wagging tail. "First Rule! You cannot let that thing out. Hide your tail like a respectful demon!"

"Aww.."

+T+

Nearly an hour later Rin was sent out with his things and a long list of rules he was meant to follow. Fujimoto had started by simply listing everything he could think up but almost immediately the information went sailing in one ear and out the other. Rins rubbed his head as he reread his list. The ones with stars next to them were the utmost important so he tried to focus on them in particular.

Needless to say the study session was short-lived.

"Gah I'll read it later." Grumbling to himself about it he pulled a different paper to the top of his stack and stared at the depicted image. It was a map of the academy, currently he was supposed to find the dorms and in the morning he would tour the grounds and shadow a top student.

"Man this map looks impossible..." Rin sighed as he tried to figure out where he was at in the first place. Grumbling to himself he groaned in frustration as the map unfolded before his very eyes. "What? There's more?" He barely kept the tears from pouring over as he nearly cried in frustration. Why did Mephisto have to build such a weird and confusing building complex? the roads were looped and snaked around oddly shaped buildings, bridges linked one level to another and sometimes just led to a dead end of a path with nothing but a small building at the end.

His tail twitched in irritation under his shirt and the Prince of Demons walked down a hall that oddly turned into an open walkway overlooking a large grassy space with a fountain in the center. Sighing he stared at the sky briefly, and a sense of calm came back to him. The sky in Assiah was so blue compared to the blood red and fiery orange of Gehenna, there was no way he would ever go back down there. Grinning he looked back down at the fountain, spotting a small group of students gathering there he immediately jumped over the walkways decorative stone railing, landing lightly on his feet, bags in tow as he hurried over.

The students were an intriguing bunch, two seemed older and were wearing monks clothes while the other three seemed younger and carried their bags with them. The shortest of the lot wore glasses and his head was shaved, the tallest bore many piercings and had a stripe of blonde down his head and the middle had hair dyed a bright rosy pink. Rins nose twitched at the scent of chemicals, they must have just done that to themselves today or the day before as the smell was decently strong.

"Hey!" Rin jogged over, the heavy bags he hauled with seeming light as feathers. The group seemed nervous, the shortest of the group having noticed Rins jump and was still pointing at Rin mouth agape. "You think you could help me with some directions? I can't follow maps to save my life." The demon rubbed the back of his head nervously with a stupid grin on his face.

The two toned male frowned at Rin and then looked back to the two dressed in monks apparel. "Well I guess this is a good a time as any. We'll see you after we graduate, Juzo, Kinzo. Ja ne." Juzo merely hugged the rosette before ruffling the bright locks and turning to leave with a wave.

"Take care now Renzo! And don't break that Kri'k!" Kinzo turned away to follow after Juzo, leaving their smallish family behind.

Renzou eyed Rin briefly before smiling at him, "Yeah man let me see it."

The shortest of the lot was still looking at Rin nervously but he seemed friendly enough. "Hello? I am Konekomaru, this is Shima and Suguro." Konekomaru seemed slightly confused that some stranger had jumped straight off a walkway nearly two floors up had landed completely uninjured just to meet them and ask for directions of all things.

Rin blinked and grinned widely, "Oh, sorry my name is Rin, Rin Okumura." He could feel his face hurting from all the smiling but he was so excited to meet people for what really was the first time. Humans were so interesting sometimes, especially these nice ones.

The one called Suguro merely grunted in acknowledgement and then snatched Rins papers from Shimas fingertips. "Give me that baka, we don't have all day to stare at maps." It took barely two seconds for Suguro to figure it out. Turning the paper right side up he pointed at a small section of the map. "It was upside down you idiot, you are here. If you are staying in the boys dorms then you need to go here." The tanned finger skimmed up the colorful paper to stop at another squared blob.

Konekomaru grinned, "We're heading there too, you can come along if you want? What are you studying here?"

"That'd be great, thank you Konekomaru-san." Rin smiled gratefully and took back the map, staring at it briefly. It was impossible, he could fake understanding but really he was completely lost on directions, even with the map. Nodding briefly as though he understood the information slightly clawed fingertips folded the paper neatly back into its compressed form and he tucked it into the rest of the papers he held.

Suguro made a small noise of irritation but said nothing further, instead he started to lead the way to the dorms with a grunt and shift of the bag on his back. The map in his hands crinkling slightly as he looked to it as they passed buildings here and there. Shima smiled brightly at the irritated Suguro and then hung back to chat with their newest acquaintance.

"I'm here for some certificates and hopefully a job after I graduate. Same for Suguro and Konekomaru here." Shima grinned at the demon.

Rin blushed brightly and poked his fingertips together. Should he tell them the truth? That the closest he had ever gotten to actual schooling was the little bits and pieces of lesson Fujimoto had given him? No, thats weird... right? Something else then. "We.. well I've never been able to focus on school before. Mephisto personally invited me here to learn so I guess I dont really have a set goal right now." Rin smiled slightly, that was a white lie enough that it would get him by right?

Konekomaru made a noise of interest. "What? No way the headmaster invited you here? You must be way smart or something!" the shave head child pulled the straps up higher on his shoulders and he pointed at Suguro with a free finger. "Suguro is a prodigy too! He's here on a scholarship! I heard there were only two students who got here on that... No wonder Okumura sounded so familiar!"

Suguro seemed peeved by this bit of background noise information. This idiot was his competitor? Not a snowball in hells chance of that.

"Ah well, I have a brother who is also going here, he was the smart one at least so its probably him." Rins eyes took to the ceiling and a small grin on his lips. "I can't even read a map right. Hehe. His name is Yukio though! If that sounds familiar?"

Shima nodded, "Yeah I saw him earlier today, hes got glasses and freckles. The chicks dig him. Apparently he's crazy smart or something."

Rins eyes went huge. "You saw Yukio?" The demons gaze turned to Shima and his grin widened. "How is he? I haven't seen him in forever! Every time I come by he's not around."

Shima leaned away, a little weirded out by Rins sudden questioning. "Yeah he's fine? Look I didn't get to talk to him or nothing, I was just jealous because all the girlies were flocking you know?"

A blush spread across Rins face and he poked his fingertips together. "Ah sorry. It's been four years is all."

Suguro did his best to ignore the suddenly buddy-buddy sense he was getting from his friends and the stranger. Instead he walked to the Room Assistant's station and slid his papers to them. An old man was sat behind the desk with a pointy short beard and eyebrows slanted so far they hid his eyes. The papers were slid back with a small key ring, a single key attached.

Shima stepped up next, doing a quick fist pump as the papers slid back. "Hey Suguro! We're roomies!" The pink haired boy waved to Rin and then darted over to Suguro, the two of them conversing as they headed away.

Konekomaru hurriedly slid his papers over and then snatched up his key and ran after the duo with a wail of "Wait for me guys!"

The Prince of Demons smiled as the trio left. That was nice of them, showing him the way and all but he couldn't help the odd twist of his gut that spelled loneliness at their departure. Breathing in a sigh he stepped over to the Room Assistants desk and handed him the paperwork. Moments later the papers were handed back with a small room key.

Thanking the Room Assistant with a quick bow Rin plodded off to his room. It took an extra minute to find it however once he did he happily flung the door open and tossed his things onto the bed on the left. "Ahhh finally! Home sweet home." The demons grin never waned, even after he passed out on his heap of belongings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2. teen Rin is tired of being in gehenna and demands to roam the human world. Satan agrees as long as Mephisto allows Rin to stay in the dorms at the school he runs, that way he knows that rin isnt running off doing assiah knows what without anyone watching over him. Astaroth has taken a fancy to the Crown prince of gehenna and the two have a short fight before Amimon snatches up Rin and takes him to Assiah. Satan calling out that Rin needs to call him frequently to keep him posted and happy outo-san.


	3. Of Tours and Sandwiches

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you would prefer to skip the fluff I place the writing summary at the bottom of each chapter. Read in record time!
> 
> Also in search of a Beta!

Wet, hairy and licky. The first three things his senses brought to mind as the Prince of Demons awoke. Rin groaned and pushed at the offending creature. His bare-hand coming into contact with a soft and small but decidedly cold and wet most definitely a dog nose brought him to full alertness. "Geh! What? Why?"

The licking stopped and Rin rubbed at his face, mumbling about irritating alarm clocks and how Astaroth needs to stop coming into his room. The demon froze and lowered his hands away from his face. A smile split his face nearly in half. "But I'm not in my room... I'm here... Hehe." Rins tail wagged about happily as he stood.

"Well good morning to you too Otouto."

The rather stuffy reply startled Rin, he had completely forgotten about the thing that woke him up! Blue eyes scanned the floor and found a small fancy looking dog sat by the foot of his bed, bearing a semi-familiar lapel on its collar. An inhale was all it took for Rin to know exactly who it was. "Eheh sorry, Good morning Nii-san."

The dog huffed at him, "Call me Pheles-san here, or Mephisto. Its on your list of rules that the other students can't find out your relation to me you know." The dog formed Mephisto rolled his little eyes. "Did you spend any time at all reading that list?"

The Prince merely yawned and stretched, tail arching and lolling to one side then the other lazily. "I skimmed it. Most of yesterday was spent just trying to find this place." Rin pouted at Mephisto, "And what gives? I was sleeping like a rock! The time differences between here and home are harsh on a little frail creature like me."

Mephisto glared at Rin as much as a dog could and then hopped off Rins bed. The pitter patter of dog paws against the ground had Rin standing and following after the disguised Mephisto. "A-Anyway what were you here for Nii-san?" The lion like tail behind him curled and swayed as Rin stooped to scoop up the little fancy dog.

Mephisto growled at being picked up but as Rin rubbed at his belly his tail wagged. "Ugh cursed dog form and its weaknesses!" A small smile grew on Mephistos face as the belly rubs got to him, "I need to give you a tour of the High School as well as the Exorcist School. The High School classes don't start for another couple days but the Cram School starts this afternoon. You will be shadowing under one of the top students. A Suguro Ryuuji."

Rin blinked and the belly rubs ceased. Mephisto took the moment of rins distraction to wriggle free from Rins arms and he landed lightly with a _taka-tak_ a of paws on the ground. "Suguro... Suguro?" Rin looked contemplative and is tail curled and wagged as he thought. "Oh! I met him yesterday!" A grin split Rins face and he leaned down towards Mephisto, tail wagging high in the air. "He's the thug-looking guy! With the piercings and the hair?" Rin pointed at his ears and then swept his hair back, miming the things he described.

Mephisto seemed uninterested. "Er... yeah sure." He had never really taken the time to know the students personally, unless they were of great use he usually just recalled their names at the most. "Get ready, your days will start even earlier than this if you want to become an exorcist."

Rin nodded eagerly and shamelessly slipped out of his clothes. He had fallen asleep in his day clothes last night after arriving to the dorm, The pants were especially uncomfortable after being slept in. Digging through his bag of stuff he pulled out a regular pair of pants and a button up shirt. Sliding into new socks and pulling his shoes on Rin grinned widely, his tail slipping up under his shirt.

Mephisto looked disappointed. At least as much as he could for a demon disguised as a dog. "We'll have to stop by the uniform storage and get you some proper clothes.." He muttered under his breath however Mephisto turned to the door ears perked and tail high. "Yooosh! Let the grand tour begin!"

+T+

Rin was in awe of everything. His exclamations of excitement were poorly hidden as he gasped, 'ooh'ed and 'aah'ed at the grand hallways, classrooms and even at the cafeteria. His reactions shocked a few of the other touring students, many of them muttering to one another about the weird guy. Rin felt his mood sour but tried his best not to let their gossip get him down.

_'Who is that? Whats a guy like that even doing here?'_

_'I saw him yesterday! He was covered in blood and he didn't have any shoes on too!'_

_'Why is a guy like that coming to school? He's probably going to start a fight if we keep talking about him'_

_'Pshh but why does he have his dog with him? Freak.'_

The girls and guys migrated away from Rin as he sat down at a large desk, marveling at the real wood and the spaciousness of the student table. Mephisto ignored the commenting just as Rin did, they were both demons, and they could one hundred percent hear the gossip spreading about the room.

"Ne this will be great Mepphy! I cant wait till classes start." Rin looked at Mephisto out of the corner of his eye a smirk on his face. "What you wont agree with me even? Just bark to say it."

Mephisto sent Rin a sour look. "Woof." The most unenthusiastic bark he would make, and certainly the only bark the King of Time would ever be coerced to make.

Rin smiled brightly at the little white pooch and then stood, pushing the chair back into place as he exited the room, sending the massive black chalkboard a longing glance before he left entirely. "So Mephisto, whats school like? Fujimoto-san told me once that if you did your homework all right youd get a sweet for getting them all right." The Prince looked down at Mephisto, only to notice the dog had stopped walking.

"Y-You... You've never been to school before?" Mephisto stared at Rin shocked. Then shook his head. "Of course Satan-sama wouldn't send you away... What have you been doing in Gehenna all this time then?"

Rin smiled down at Mephisto and then crouched, flicking a little thumbs up at his brother. "Training." The tip of Rin's finger lit up with blue fire for a brief moment then he scooped up Mephisto and continued walking. "Otou-san said he planned for me to destroy all of Assiah once I grew up. I like it here too much though, Otouto lives here and so does Fujimoto-san and you and so many others." Rin's smile brightened. "Why would I want to destroy all of that?"

Mephisto looked a little worried and a bead of sweat built up on his furry face, but the look was gone before Rin could notice it. "It is nice here isn't it? All these humans are so entertaining. I especially love the drama between all of them, so much passion."

A squeamish face printed itself on Rin and the prince of demons stuck his tongue out. "Oh please, I honestly would prefer it in a manga. Humans are so... weird. I cant believe you're so into them."

The feel of the white dog nodding was his response. Rin glanced down and then back up where he was heading. Immediately a grin brightened his face and he half jogged over, his bookbag bouncing against his concealed tail roughly. "Oi! Suguro-san! Shima-kun and Konekomaru-kun!" He hid his discomfort well and beamed as two out of the three accepted him warmly.

Konekomaru smiled up at Rin, the light glinting on his glasses and a gleam on his brightly polished noggin. "Oh! Good morning Rin! Are you here on the tour as well?"

"Tch. You bring your dog to school? What kind of student are you?"

The sour comment made Rins stomach twist uncomfortably. "A-ah.. well... yes?" Rin looked at Mephisto and the look in the demons eyes pleaded for Rin not to reveal him. "He's my uh... familiar.. kind of?"

Shima grinned widely. "Oooh! I bet you get all the ladies with a cutie like this around! Whats her name?"

Rin immediately bust up laughing. The murderous glare the 'cute' dog sent Shima would have made him piss his pants, if it weren't muted by the sheer adorableness that was the white fluffy disguise. Mephisto glared at Rin right after and then wriggled free of Rins arms. Landing on the ground haughtily he shook his coat out and then pranced away. Calming himself Rin wiped the tears from his eyes. "Ahah aahh.. No he's a boy and you just offended him like crazy." Suppressing the need to chuckle the demon smiled, "Mepphy is his name."

Konekomaru planted a fist in his palm as though he had just figured something out and looked after the white dog, only to see that it had vanished. "Like the headmaster of the Excor-" Suguro suddenly slapped a hand over Konekomaru's mouth.

"Hey! We're not supposed to talk about that out here! Especially to new students." The already irritated Suguro seemed more irate than before.

Rin smiled cheekily. "The Cram School? Yeah I have to go to that too. So no worries." He waved a hand about as if dismissing said worries. "Actually, as top student Suguro, the headmaster Pheles-san noted that I am to shadow you for the day."

Suguro looked like he was actually going to explode, "What? Why would I show a delinquent like you around! Mind you I don't like dogs very much either!"

Rin smiled and fished the letter from his book bag, pointing to the spot where it clearly stated he would shadow Suguro Ryuuji for the next week to assure Rin would be on the right track in learning. The cockscomb male glared at the paper, willing it to spontaneously combust. Little did Suguro know that the paper _could_ actually burn in such a way, if Rin willed it to at least.

"Well then Okumura-kun, welcome to the group!" Shima smiled brightly at the demon and Rins cobalt eyes lit up with excitement. The trio turned to continue with the tour of the Academy, Rin following after. He stuck his hands into his pockets and frowned as he felt something odd in his pocket. Pulling it out he stared at the golden key then noticed the note attached. Rin grinned at the meticulous handwriting belonging to Mephisto.

_Rin, this key will take you to to the Cram School through any door. Just open the door and you will be in the heart of the Exorcist Academy. Also please try and remember to read the rules Fujimoto-san wrote for you too. Do not make me come back to save you!  
-Love Samael_

Rin smiled and hurried after the three, idly he found his eyes drifting to Suguro's piercings, they were just so shiny and cool looking. Konekomaru suddenly dropped behind to walk next to Rin. "So what miester are you going for?"

The prince of demons blinked, caught off guard. His hand drifted up to rub at the back of his head. "Well I haven't really decided yet. I was hoping for something cool though. What are you going for?" Rins heart thudded, what was a miester? Crap he probably should have read those rules or something. That surely would explain some things?

"Shima and I are going for Aria. Bon is a prodigy though and he's going to try for both Aria and Dragoon." The light caught Konekomaru's bald head and Rin itched to smooth his hand across the top. Resisting just barely Rin shoved his hands in his pockets, fiddling with the key.

"Hey! Stop telling this guy stuff about me! You dont even know him!" Suguro snapped at Konekomaru.

Rin crossed his arms defensively, "Every friend starts out as a stranger. If you even bothered to get to know me then I wouldn't learn about you from other people."

Shima looked a bit shocked at Suguro's aggression and then even more so as Rin defiantly held his ground at the argument set to happen. Then he smiled at the two of them and continued on. "Come on you can save your date for later, we have to eat lunch and then Cram classes start right after that." The rosette fluttered his eyelashes. "You two could even share a bento!"

Suguro nearly snarled at Shima, shooting Rin a final glare he hurried after the rosette. Rin frowned and walked after the two with Konekomaru at his side. "Is he always like this?"

"More or less, I'm not sure why he doesn't like you really." Konekomaru pushed his glasses up a little but offered Rin a smile. "He will warm up eventually I'm sure though. Ever since that night he's always been so aggressive."

A dark eyebrow raised in question. "That night? what happened to him?"

A swivel of shininess as Konekomaru shook his head. "I'll let him tell you about it. No need to anger him any more you know."

Rin nodded and grinned as the small group entered the cafeteria. Suguro and Shima stepped in line to wait, Rin however was once again taken by the sheer size of the cafeteria room. "Woooow! So cool!" Rin was nearly bursting with excitement as he and Konekomaru stepped into line after Suguro and Shima. "This has got to be like the second most elaborate room I have ever seen."

Shima chuckled. "Whats your first?"

Rin grinned widely. "Have you even looked at those classrooms? Or the Gym? This place is nuts!"

The wait in line was brief as the group chatted about this and that. Rin tried to bond with Suguro but the guy would have none of it. Upon seeing the cafeterias menu and prices Rin sulkily had himself two small sandwiches. Both of which were mostly bread with a little bit of vegetables and meat stuffed between. The others weren't much better off, apparently no one had thought that an expensive and fancy school also meant expensive and fancy food.

"Agh I could just make something better than this." Rin pouted as he opened up both of the sandwiches. He combined the two of them together and took a bite of the new creation.

"You cook?" Shima asked through a mouthful of lettuce, pointing his cheap plastic fork at the demon.

Suguro winced at Shimas lack of table manners. "Yeah but its not like spectacular or anything. I didn't really have a lot of parental supervision as a kid so I did pretty much anything I wanted; but that also meant I had to fend for myself most of the time too." Suguro almost could have sighed with the relief that at least Rin hadn't answered with a mouthful of sandwich. "I call this creation the 'incept-wich.' Its a sandwich within a sandwich."

Konekomaru laughed at that. "Like that movie right?"

A sound that was quickly becoming familiar pitter pattered its way over. Rin looked down at Mephisto who simply looked at him then flicked his gaze away briefly. Swallowing the last of his incept-wich the half demon gathered his things. "Hey sorry I gotta go do something real quick. I'll see you guys in class!"

Suguro eyed Rins retreating form suspiciously but resumed eating. "That guys weird though.. you guys feel it don't you?"

Shima merely gave an eye roll and scratched together some bits of salad topping for his crappy fork to pick up. "Seems pretty normal to me. I mean maybe he doesn't get out much you know?"

Konekomaru shrugged his non-committal agreement and busied himself with the terrible sandwich he had bought.

Rin sighed as Mephisto led him away from the group. "Man I was trying to make friends you know." Pouting at the dog Rin scuffed his shoes.

"You need to get your uniform and I have to ask you some things about your education." _taka taka taka_. Rin nodded mutely and sighed.

"I've never been to school. I got a little bit of education from Fujimoto-san when I visited as a kid but looking back its obvious that he didn't want to deal with me. I'm just not smart."

Mephisto sighed and nodded. "Well you're being moved to some basic classes. Also known as remedial classes. Just to boost your basic knowledge. I'll be assigning you a tutor as well you bring you up to speed. The Remedial students usually get one anyways but I'll have to make sure its a good one."

Grumbling under his breath as he slipped into the True Cross Academy uniform Rin whined at how uncomfortable his tail was. "Ahhh Nii-san! Why do I have to tuck it in too? Its so scratchy." The half demon fiddled with the back of his tucked in shirt for a minute as he tried to smooth it out. His tail wriggled uncomfortably as it found a slightly less irritating position.

"Well unless you want all of the Exorcists to know you are a demon I would suggest just dealing with it." The older demon glared at Rin with all his whining.

"They know you're a demon though.. Can't you just say I'm your long lost relative or something?" The deep cobalt eyes widened for the full cuteness effect, however it was lost on Mephisto as the small dog rolled his eyes.

"No."

He preferred hamsters really.

+T+

Fujimoto sighed in exasperation as he watched the little half demon run around haphazardly. The child was literally chasing away coal tars with a straw broom, swinging the cleaning tool around like a bat as he tried to thwack them out of the monastery. Yukio was doing about the same with his level of coal tar chasing. Nagatomo and Maruta were doing the actual work as they cleaned the worn out summoning and defensive circles off of the brick walls that lined the property.

Suddenly Rin stopped his flailing and running and stared up at Fujimoto. His little body out of breath as he watched the priest exorcise the room. Immediately all of the coal tars in the main room popped into fine dust then sifted into nothingness. Rin smiled brightly, his tail curled high in the air.

"What? That was so cool!" Rin immediately jumped up trying to read what Fujimoto was reading from the book he held. He couldn't read the fine print fast enough but his excitement kept him hopping around. "How'd ya do that? Can you teach me how? I want to try it!"

Fujimoto sighed and knelt down to show the little demon the passage he had read. "You can read it but it wont do you any good unless you become an exorcist."

Cobalt eyes blinked up at him, it took a moment for the words to sink in and when they did the flash of recognition washing over Rins face pulled at the paladins heart strings. The the gaze turned suddenly from excited to broken. "But.. exorcists kill demons don't they?" The previously curled and wagging tail went limp and the fluffy poof of a tip laid curled between his feet. "A-And I'm a demon.."

"Well yes but no ones going to kill you Rin." Fujimoto patted at the black blue locks but it did nothing to console the little half breed.

"But what if they do?"

Fujimoto felt his blood chill at the whispered words. Frantically he thought back to all the times Rin had asked about the relations of demons and humans. No one had told him about Satan being the utmost evil right? No one had told Rin that he was sure to be hunted if his bloodline was ever discovered... right?

Swallowing thickly Fujimoto brushed some of Rins tears away. "Did you know there are actually mixed breed demons as exorcists too? Even half demons like you can become a great exorcist!"

Rins sniffles quieted and he rubbed his sleeves across his snot and teary face. "But what if they get killed?"

Fujimoto frowned slightly. Why was death looming in Rins mind so often? What was going on in Gehenna that caused him to think like this? Forcing himself to grin he rubbed some of Rins tear streaks away. "They won't, because they are good. Just like you Rin. They want to prove to all the other people of this world that even demons want to have the same things that humans have."

Somehow more tears were leaking from the little Prince's eyes. "I... I want to be a good exorcist too..." A smile split Rins face and his tail curled up from the floor. "I want to be the best! I want to show everyone that we're not bad! We're just like everyone else!"

Fujimoto grinned, however on the inside he felt like his heart was breaking for the little demon. The Son of Satan who wanted to be just like everyone else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3. Mephisto seals up Rins demonic power into the Kurikara to help hide his true form, shortening his ears and fangs and sealing the blue fire for the most part within the blade. The headmaster then takes Rin on a tour of the school, it comes to attention that rin has never attended a proper school before. instead he had been raised learning to fully harness his power, making him a very dangerous student if the vatican found out. THe tour takes Rin through the halls of the regular highschool where he woudl be attending remedial classes to boost his basic knowledge of reading math english and science. The tour ends with Mephisto giving RIn a key to the Cram school on the grounds he can train to become an exorcist. /flash back on when rin had vehemently decided to become an exorcist to help his fathers goal of merging gehenna and assiah/ Rin then enters his first day of schooling as a shadowing student under the wing of the highest scoring student there.


	4. Of Sharing and Caring

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you would prefer to skip the fluff I place the writing summary at the bottom of each chapter. Read in record time!
> 
> Also in search of a Beta!

In the darkness of his room a small alarm blipped from an even smaller cellphone. How someone thought that such a device could wake someone was ridiculous. Yet after a few minutes of its attempt at blaring the cellular phone succeeded in its duty. So maybe someone did their job right a little bit. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes Ryuuji slipped out of bed and began to change. Switching his pajamas for a sauna suit covered by a dark grey and white track suit the cockscombed teen pulled his MP3 from his dresser's top draw and then with a pair of headphones in hand made to leave the room. Donning his running shoes before he stepped out the dorm door and locked the panel behind him.

As per usual Renzou didnt even twitch as his roommate woke and prepared for his morning run. Ryuuji was starting to test the boundaries of Renzous sleep and didn't even bother with closing the door lightly as he usually did. The lock clicked loudly as the room was secured but it did nothing to disturb the rosettes sleep cycle. Shoving the key into his pocket Ryuuji _swished_ down the hallway, his running shoes squeaking softly against the hardwood floor.

Sometimes he hated these sauna suits. They tore too easily and they made an awful swish-y noise as he walked. In contrast with their downsides were extremely effective and useful, so he simply tolerated it for now. His lazy stare turned into a harsh glare as he passed _that_ door. His gaze boring holes through the panel to burn the surely asleep occupant.

Another thing he disliked: Rin Okumura. That brat, always following him and his friends, getting all buddy buddy like he wasn't an irritating person. And the lingering! Ryuuji shuddered and then inhaled deeply, trying to find his calm serenity so he could start his day off right. He plugged his headphones in and then slipped the earbuds into his ears. Nodding to the Room Assistant in greeting he exited the building and began his usual run.

The slap of shoes against cement echoed around the empty school grounds. Songs playing at random as the shuffle shuffled them around.

Rin snorted loudly as he woke, blinking blearily he looked to his window. The sun had passed the horizon but was still dying the early morning sky a very pretty pink and velvet blue. Stretching and yawning widely he grumbled to himself. "Damn alarm, whats the point of setting one if it doesn't wake you up?" It was a little past six thirty now and he only had an hour to be ready an another half hour to be on time for class. Rubbing his face as he slipped out of bed Rin grabbed his bathing stuff and with a quick tail tuck stepped out into the hallway. The sounds of the rest of the dorm students waking and getting ready for school were like furious claps of thunder in his ears. Their feet as they stomped carelessly across their shared dorm room floors, the slams of their dresser drawers or room doors. Not even counting the clamor of voices as they chattered eagerly about their schedules. For an average human it was just the quiet hum of dorm life. For the Prince of Demons it was like a parade of elephants right through his brain.

The bathrooms weren't too far away thankfully enough and he set his morning bag next to a sink. Squirting some toothpaste onto the tooth brush he began to scrub sleepily at his teeth. The sounds of the rest of the dorm stomping around were muted thanks to the tile walls, a great relief to his over-sensitive ears. Instead the sound of someone showering caught his ear and the thought of taking a refreshing morning shower seemed like a good idea. Was that what responsible students did anyways? He wasn't entirely sure. This human-ing was proving more complex than he originally thought.

Figuring he could finish brushing his teeth in the shower to save on time Rin slipped over towards the rubber matted space. The floor was coated in a thick non-slip rubber with large holes for drainage. Underneath that was just a regular old cement floor with a small drain centered at the lowest point. A few benches were in the center of the changing room along with shelves for bathroom-goers to store their stuff briefly. Rin made no use of those however and merely set his bag on a bench nearest the shower. He slipped out of his clothes and with naught but a towel around his waist to hide his tail, slumped into the tiled mass shower for a refreshing wake up.

"Mornin' Suguro." Rin muffled through his mouthful of foam and toothbrush. He didn't even need to as much as glance at the cockscombed dorm mate; the nose never lied.

A splutter of choking, Rin guessed that Suguro choked on the shower water? The demon didn't care and instead stepped into a stall sliding the curtain shut behind him. The shower dividers left much to be desired as they were merely shoulder high panels with a curtain for some semblance of privacy. Slipping his towel over the curtain bar he twisted the hot dial and relished in the burning heat of the water, tail curling around one leg to feel the refreshing hot water as it poured down the limb.

"Ack! Okumura! What are you doing here?" Suguro spluttered rinsing some soap from his eyes to better glare at the offending blunette.

Rin rolled his eyes and finished brushing his teeth, hocking the foam and spit into the drain below him. "Getting ready for school _baka_. Regular high school starts today and I want to impress as many chicks as I can." Rin grinned widely at Suguro raising an eyebrow at him. "What, why do you take showers in the morning? Mr top student."

"I do it because instead of sleeping like all you lazy bums I exercise to start my day off right." Suguro nodded to himself and busied with finishing his shower. He shut off the water before he rinsed his hair and cursed as he had to turn it back on to finish the process. The water was turned off again and Suguro busied himself with drying before stepping out and hurrying away from the demon.

Suguro glared endlessly at the ground, the clothes he picked up to change into, his shoes, the walls then the floor. Why did Okumura piss him off so much? Even after he returned to his dorm room to gather his things, he couldn't help but glare at Okumuras dorm door every time he walked past it. So much for starting the day off 'right.'

Rin blinked at the two toned male as he left the showers but decided to avoid saying anything further. The aggravated teen's anger was nearly flowing off of him in waves and it was just a little unsettling to say the least. Rins tail flicked and curled near the drain. Bummer that Suguro disliked him so much. The demon actually thought Suguro was pretty cool, what with his rebellious piercings and hair style. A rock formed in the pit of his stomach as a foreboding thought crossed his mind. No, there was no way Suguro knew he was a demon, So far no one had bothered about his pointy teeth or ears. No one had seen his tail either.

So why?

+T+

The migraine forming from the showers did not fade or disperse in the slightest. Suguro blamed it entirely on Okumura, it was just so easy to pin the blame on the dark haired student. Ever since lunch the Okumura boy had leeched his way into Suguros group of childhood friends. Their conversations were normal and even carried the same topics as before the bluenette had popped in and yet the headache was too persistent to be ignored. Especially now that he was forced to share a desk with the damned guy.

They were short on text books as some low level rot demon had possessed the aged pages and eaten them away. So here he sat, elbows nearly brushing as Rin stared hard ahead at the teacher. A mostly blank notebook to his side of the book and a pencil in hand, not that Rin was taking notes as much as doodling. However the boy was doing his best to focus, especially so in order to keep from irritating Suguro. Not that Suguro noticed as he rested his elbows on the table and rubbed at his temples, his glare still going strong as he flicked his gaze from their teacher to the book.

Currently it was a more Aria Meister focused class, Scripture Literature. Rins focused gaze turned suddenly miserable, Suguro wondered for a moment why he was so focused on the irritating male. Rins elbow purposefully brushed Suguros and immediately Suguros headache dimmed. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and closed his eyes to rub his temples some more. The elbow bump again and Suguro looked at his desk mate from the corner of his eye.

"What" He asked in an irritated but hushed manner, his voice just above a whisper.

Rin's expression looked awkward, no he always looked awkward. With those pointy ears and too blue to be legitimate eyes. "Uhm... don't laugh ok, but what does the teacher mean by... n-nevermind." Rins awkward face got worse and he turned his face back towards the front of the class. Thankfully their teacher hadn't noticed the brief whispering and continued on with the lecture.

This class was all about reciting arias and cleansing demons, apparently all demons had a Fatal Verse that would send them straight back to Gehenna or completely destroy them. A whole hock of memorization that Rin knew he would have trouble with. His issue with it was that he was probably going to stumble across his own Fatal Verse. The idea of accidentally being killed had his chest tightening and his stomach flipping uncomfortably.

Suguro watched as his classmate became suddenly uneasy, the blood seeming to leave his face in a flash leaving him rather pale and sickly looking. "Are you ok?" He bit his tongue right after the words left his mouth half wishing he could suck the words right back into his throat. Why should he care for the cause of his headaches well-fare? It was too late now, like a smashed roll of toothpaste there was no getting the oozed paste back inside.

The demon nodded and turned the page as instructed. "Just excited. Haha" A grin split his face as he smiled in what he hoped was a reassuring way.

The teacher seemed to hear their conversation as Rins hollow laugh was a touch above a whisper. "Something funny over there Okumura?"

Rins eyes snapped to the teachers. "No sir. I was only wondering if High level demons like the Demon Kings or even Satan have Fatal Verses. I'm sorry for my disruption." Though the demon seemed calm about being called out, his heart was hammering and his skin felt suddenly cold then hot, a sweat breaking across his body making his tail uncomfortable in his shirt as the flashes of temperature change made his skin feel clammy and uncomfortable. The silence stretched thin for a moment and Rin trembled slightly. Would the teacher come out and recite those verses? What if one of them triggered him?

"Ah, Well that is both a good and bad reason to chuckle. We believe that The Eight Demon Kings and even Satan himself have Fatal Verses, however they have not been discovered yet."

Suguro watched from his peripheral as Okumura sighed inaudibly and resumed reading and taking crappy notes. The teen seemingly relaxed once more, if not more relaxed than he had been earlier during lunch.

The bell could not come soon enough for Suguro and the two toned teen packed away _his_ text book and papers before waiting patiently for all the students to filter out. Making eye contact with his teacher he hurried over as Okumura was the last to leave. He waited until he was sure that the others were out of hearing rang before speaking.

"Sensei, is there any way I could switch seats with another student?"

A raised eyebrow and then a frown of distaste. "Oh, is there something wrong with where you currently are?"

Suguro nodded, "I know it is improper to request this but I cannot stand to share my books with Okumura. We do not get along and I would prefer to be seated with another student so I can focus properly."

The teacher nodded, "I see, I will do what I can but for the time being please do try to do your best then. I understand you are here on scholarship and you need to do your very best."

Suguro felt some more of his headache leave him.

"That boy, Okumura I heard is a special case. The director himself got him into the Academy on a scholarship similar to yours. I would suggest you set aside your differences, in the workplace you will not be able to simply 'switch' with someone because you do not like your current situation." The teacher gathered his papers into his briefcase and clicked it shut. "However I will see what I can do for you Suguro."

Rin had mistakenly decided to wait for Suguro to leave the classroom. Having waved off Konekomaru and Shima in favor of having some alone time with the cockscombed male, see if he could perhaps fix their budding friendship. Leaning against the wall to one side of their classroom door Rin lowered his gaze to the floor, letting his black blue bangs half hide his eyes. The shuffling of papers and the scuff of shoes seemed to echo in his mind as their Scripture Literature teacher stepped out. The human seemed surprised that Rin of all students was standing by the door. Offering a pitying glance the teacher greeted Rin and then headed away.

The uncomfortable pit in his stomach returned as Suguro stepped out of the classroom a moment later. For a second the demon debated, right on the cusp of deciding. Pretend he never heard their conversation? Or openly admit he had heard everything and try to fix it or drop his attempt at friendliness?

"Ah! Hey Suguro! Sorry I forgot something in the classroom and I saw you and teacher were having a chat so I waited out here." Rin rubbed the back of his head, a stupid smile on his face. He could feel the sting of salt in his eyes and hurried into the room, fake looking for a pencil around his desk. "See you in Practicals!" Rin stooped at his chair, hearing Suguro by the door. The humans feet scuffed at the doorway, as if about to step inside to confront, then retreated.

"See you."

Rin bit his lip and knelt down, picking up a stray mechanical pencil though he made no move to stand back up just yet. instead he just let the tears well over for a moment before he blinked them away and sighing. "Why is making friends difficult?" The despair flared brightly in his heart, turning quickly to blue flaming anger. He grit his teeth and glared at the floor, the plastic utensil in his hand suddenly splintering into pieces. " _Why is it so difficult_?" His voice distorted to a feral growl, thankfully no one was around to hear him talk to himself.

Snarling quietly he stood and ran to his next class, the feeling of burning emotion bursting beneath his skin.

+T+

"Ahh Tsubaki-sensei is such an odd teacher."

Konekomaru nodded in agreement with Shima as the Kyoto trio left the changing rooms. "I didn't expect him of all people to suddenly end class early like that."

Suguro was frowning and decidedly less gleeful about being released from classes early. They had just finished Practical Training, or in other words their physical education class. It was more or less a basic exercise day running and maneuvering around an overly elaborate agility course to build up their basic stats and get everyone fit and ready for the more physically taxing portion of being an exorcist.

"Tch, for being such a renowned school you wouldn't think such a teacher would have a job here." THe frown deepened. "What kind of teacher ends class early for a phone call?"

Shima wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Didn't you hear him? 'My little kitty' is pretty important."

Konekomaru blushed brightly but in a moment of fluster decided to divert the topic to something else. Dark eyes flicked around. "Hey where is Okumura?"

If Suguros frown could get any larger it would. "Who cares about that idiot?"

As if being summoned for getting mentioned in conversation Rin turned the corner, his dirty gym clothes in a plastic bag. "Ahaha sorry, I had to get a trash bag for my gym clothes, the mud didn't really wash out you see." He rubbed the back of his head with one hand, the other hung by his side with a very gross looking plastic grocery bag dangling from his fingers, the top of it double knotted shut.

Shima hummed his agreement. "That does look pretty nasty."

"You're the only one who fell into the mud pit too. Can't balance yourself huh?" Suguro grinned and crossed his arms haughtily.

The demon frowned and with a glare headed off. "Well I'll just work on it then. Not everyone's perfect you chicken head!" Rin was blushing in frustration, not having his tail to rely on for counter balance really did a number on his abilities. He had no idea the appendage was that important.

Shima snickered and Suguro glared after the retreating Okumura. What kind of person did he think he was? The trio headed after Rin since the dorms were their collective destination after all. Rin seemed to speed walk away and once he was in the dorms hurried to collect his shower supplies. The days worth of grime and sweaty stickiness on his skin was really getting to him, not to mention all the mud that was caked deep in his hair from Practicals. As he picked out a set of after school clothes he glanced to the side of his room and smirked, suddenly in higher spirits as he exited and locked his dorm room door.

Suguro glared as he spotted Rin leaving his dorm room with all his shower stuff in a bag, suddenly he was reminded of how grimy he felt under his day clothes, his gym clothes were in a bag but they did little to protect his body from dust and sweat. Suguro made a mental note to wait to shower until after the damned blue eyed guy was done and gone. Rin caught his eye and smirked. "At least I don't have to share a room."

The cockscombed male sputtered, "What? What does that even have to do with anything?"

For some reason this tidbit of information was not lost on Suguro and had him mildly fuming. That was true. Why didn't Okumura have a roommate? To his knowledge the whole of the dorm was packed full and yet here was this smug little blue eyed idiotic frustrating student with a room all to himself.

Rin didn't respond verbally, merely kept his smirk wide and shrugged nonchalantly before flip-flopping down the hall towards the floors bathrooms. Each flop and flip smack made Suguros blood boil and with a vein nearly bursting from his neck threw his and Shimas shared dorm door open. "What a smug little shit."

Shima hid his chuckles pretty well for once. Okumura really knew how to push someones buttons and the rosette loved his front row seat to it all. He kept his words to himself, and merely got his shower bag together. Shampoo, soap, a scrub floof and a hairbrush topped off with a towel were tossed into his reusable grocery bag of a toiletries container. Suguro was still fuming and glowered over his homework as he spread it out on his desk, not even paying attention as his dorm mate left.

Why did he even care about it? School was more important than those impossibly blue eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 4. Class starts up with Rin shadowing Suguro for the day. The cockscomb male begrudgingly sharing his books. Its only a week into the school session but as the classes end he expresses his dislike for Rin to tone of the professors. Rin is angry that this suguro does not like him when he had done nothing wrong yet and the two begin their rivallry. However the professor explains that rin is attending on a scholarship just like suguro was and it was best to leave it be. Rin is made to stay with all the other males in the new boys dormitory and is down the hall from where Suguro is staying. Though Rin does not have a roommate while Suguro shares his room with Renzou Shima. The dorms are decently full and Rin gloats on his lack of a room mate. This deepens the anger between them as RIn is sure to rub it in Suguros face.


	5. Of Tutors and Personal Space

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you would prefer to skip the fluff I place the writing summary at the bottom of each chapter. Read in record time!
> 
> Also in search of a Beta!

Rin yawned as he awoke. Feeling fully rested he prided himself for waking up before his alarm. Slipping cheerily out of his bed he missed the fact that not only had his phone been knocked off the bed some time during the night, but that the cord that charged the device, while plugged into the cell was not plugged into the wall. Ignoring the foreboding signs the young Prince slipped into his uniform and then blinked in sudden realization.

During the past few days he had noticed that no matter when he was awake there was always the thunder of footsteps and voices as everyone else woke and prepared for their classes. Now there was silence and it sent a prickling feeling up his spine.

Slipping his shoes on he picked up his cell and tapped at the display screen with a small claw. His phone was dead. Frowning Rin followed the attached cord to the wall and sighed comically. Falling to his knees before the outlet he plugged the wire in and hurried off to the bathroom to brush his teeth. A sense of urgency was building in his belly and as he went back to his room to check his phone felt his heart drop.

"Crap! No way I slept in that much!" Rin nearly screamed at himself. He was a flurry of motion, struggling to button his shirt correctly as he gathered his papers he had left out on his desk the night before. All the while muttering curses under his breath. Grabbing his phone off the charging cord he whined at the sight of only twenty percent battery. Oh well it wasn't like anyone called him anyways. The thought still lurked of 'But what if someone did call? Its almost dead!'

Bursting out of his dorm room door he had half a mind to check that he had his keys before he slammed it shut and tucked his tail. All while running down the halls and out of the dormitory. He didn't even greet the RA as the employee snoozed quietly behind his desk.

A flurry of motion both frantic and berserk had students in passing side stepping to avoid the whirlwind that was a late for class Okumura. his mind was a throng of thoughts as he tried to figure out what class he needed to get to. It was past ten so he had missed his English class but his mathematics had yet to finish so he needed to get to that room instead. Veering around a corner he apologized furiously to a lone female student as he nearly knocked her over and then kept running. Pausing a moment outside his classroom door to catch his breath he then attempted to slyly slip into the room and his desk.

Only to find that not only was it the worst time to enter but of all people Suguro was stood at the front of the class. His teacher narrowed her eyes at Rin and then gestured with a huff. "Well we don't have all day Okumura. To your seat! I will be assigning you detention after class if you are late again this week!"

The sharp tone had Rin scuttling to his chair where he sat and fixed the teacher with his best 'I am paying complete attention' gaze. He also did his very best to ignore the molten hot glare that Suguro was sending him. The cockscombed male was fixing Rin with the dirtiest glare he could manage without anyone else noticing. However Okumura was playing the role of 'good student' too well for anyone to notice the direction of his glare.

"Now, Since this is a remedial mathematics class, you are being assigned a tutor to keep you up to speed. This class will be covering a lot of ground, from elementary math all through to college grade. " Their teacher pushed her glasses up and eyed her students. "To ensure that you do well these fine students up here are the of their classes and for extra credit have offered their skills. You will be unable to switch tutors once assigned. Your grades duly reflect your tutors efforts so please do not fail them."

She picked up a small ceramic mug full of Popsicle sticks. Shaking it lightly to gather attention to it she continued. "To ensure that the tutors are selected at random you are assigned via Popsicle sticks, our headmaster Sir Pheles recommends such procedure. Tutors please line up and draw a stick. On that stick will be your disciple. Please wait out in the hall as after we have finished assigning we will all go to the library to work on the problems assigned for today."

Suguro nearly sighed with relief as he stepped into line, second to last but it merely gave him the confidence that Okumura wouldn't be his pick. There was no way that could happen, with what? Nearly twenty students in this class and a tutor for each, the odds were nearly impossible that he would draw the weirdos name.

Likewise Rin was thinking of the odds of Suguro drawing his stick, however his was more along the lines of half-hearted interest. It would really be fate drawing them together if such a thing were to happen. Idly Rin eyed the other tutors that all had equal chance to draw his name. A couple of them looked really nerdy, really Suguro was the only 'cool' looking person in the group. The couple girls looked cutely nervous as they drew their sticks, no doubt worried they would be assigned to some creepy guy.

Slowly but surely the tutors drew sticks and students filtered out. Rins stomach twisted as he watched the line shrink. Only two more people were ahead of Suguro and the guy did not look happy as his turn came to draw only to find two sticks left. The prince was stunned, watching with the same nervous queasy feeling as Suguro felt. His fingers hovered over one stick, then the other.

The teacher rolled her eyes and shook the cup bringing the sticks to swirl around. Impulsively Suguro pulled the first stick that touched his fingers.

"Alright! Okumura you are paired with Suguro here! Which leaves..."

Suguro didnt hear the rest of her words and merely stared at Okumuras name written in crappy marker on the stick. The Hirigana burned into his eye sockets.

Rins face thumped against his desk. "No... Why?" He mumbled intelligibly into his desk before sliding out of his chair and pulling his bag onto his shoulder again. He had to remind his tail not to droop from is secured spot as he sullenly stepped out into the hallway. Suguro followed after and the two just sort of stood there in quiet.

"I hate you so much."

Rin blinked and his eyes flicked to Suguros face briefly before they were back straight ahead of him, staring blankly at the wall across. "You pulled the stick stupid. In no way was that my fault."

Suguro ground his teeth slightly and glared at Rin. "It is your fault cause you're dumb enough to be in this class in the first place."

The prince withheld a snarl. "That has got nothing to do with it. You just have terrible luck."

Their whole class was now migrating slowly towards the library and silently Rin prayed for some miracle of destruction to fall so they wouldn't make it, much less do any real studying. His plea went unanswered as he sat down at an empty two seater desk and Suguro slid into place beside him. The teacher went around assigning page numbers and forcing the students to share their contact information. She had sensed the displeasure between Suguro and Okumura from the moment the boy had shown up late for class and made sure the two exchanged the correct phone numbers.

Rin frowned as he dialed the number Suguro had given him, only for the guys phone to not ring at all. The teacher had then supervised the number Rin put into dial and smiled sweetly as it rang Suguros cell. "Perfect! Now please work on your problems until class is out and." She sent a pointed look at the troublesome two. "Do try to get along." Her smile was strained and Rin wondered briefly if she would explode from irritation.

"I don't know how shes a teacher. I swear most of the time she wants to strangle students or suffocate them with her perfume." Rin rubbed his nose at the mention and flipped his book open to the desired pages on his first try.

Suguro frowned. "Maybe if you didn't show up late all the time she wouldn't have to be so angry with you." He glanced over the basic math problems. It was nothing difficult, just multiplication and division. Briefly he wondered just how far Rin was behind everyone else as he dutifully began copying down the problem numbers.

"That was the first time thank you." Rin glared at his books, willing himself to not let the flammable papers burst into flame. Thankfully their banter ended after a shush from a nearby table and Rin spent his time working out the problems by himself while Suguro busied himself with his own homework.

+T+

The prince wasn't sure if he was relieved or more aggravated than before as he and Suguro walked down the halls towards Cram School. They were going the same direction but in no means were they in the same group. Rin was to one side of the hall and a few steps in front while Suguro was at the other side staring hard into the floor. Rin sighed softly and slowed until he was walking alongside Suguro. The cockscomb didn't notice until Rin bumped shoulders with him. It was an attempt at a friendly gesture as Rin grinned at the slightly taller male as he was glared down at.

"So I get you don't like me right." He started before Suguro could start his rant about personal space. "Literally I have done nothing wrong to you man. So whats up?"

Dark brown eyes stared into intense blue and Suguro suddenly realized he was in fact being a bit of an asshole. Though he would never admit it out loud.

Rin waved his hands around a little trying to convey his confusion, the lack of connection. "Like I have no idea what I'm doing wrong here. To my knowledge we're not friends but I'm trying really hard to get to know you... You know? Help me out a little. You're my tutor now too."

Suguro huffed and crossed his arms defensively. "I don't like you. I don't like people, especially ones like you."

Rin nodded, Suguro did seem pretty adamant about that. "And? Why?"

An irritated expression and silence was his response and the older male stopped as they reached the door. Suguro made his way to his designated seat and Rin plopped down on next to him drawing another sigh. "You're too happy and clingy man. Go away."

Rin rolled his eyes at that. "I can't, this is my assigned seat. You are my tutor."

"For now..." Suguro muttered as he grabbed his text book that he was _forced_ to _share_ with his table mate who was _Okumura_ of all people. It seemed that fate really had it out for him. However this class was a blessing in disguise as their teacher walked in. Almost immediately Rin leapt from his seat and bolted to the front of the class, nearly tackling his younger brother in a hug.

"Otouto! Gosh I haven't seen you in forever!" Rin was hugging and grinning so bright it rivaled the sun. However the person in question was not pleased at all by the sudden attention and invasion of personal space.

"Nii-san what are you doing up here?" Yukios face was painted in surprise, fear and shock, the near polar opposite of Rins excited happy face. Yukios hand had slid the gun on his hip, the holster flicked open and hand on the hilt ready to draw. It seemed that just the barest of thought had stopped his well ingrained instinct from a rapid draw and fire.

Rin stepped back and smiled slightly, "Fujimoto said I could attend, and Sir Pheles allowed it as well." His smile stayed bright but the excitement had drifted from his eyes. Rin hadn't missed the lack of familial reaction nor his twins hand as it slid slowly away from the holster. The demon quietly berated himself on jumping an exorcist so blindly. ' _Even if it is my brother_.' Rin mused to himself.

Yukio nodded still a little shaken but smiled politely. "Well please do treat me as your teacher." Rin nodded slightly, taking the words as a request for 'don't do that again.'

A wide toothy grin split Rins face, giving a thumbs up to his little brother Rin nearly skipped back to his seat. "Will do. I cant wait to see you teach."

Yukio eyed Rin slightly. "I have high expectations of you Okumura. You are attending my demonology class after all." A nod from Rin was his response and Suguro glanced between teacher and student in mild confusion. Why did They seem to share some sort of knowing look like that? The guy couldn't even pass his basic math but for some reason their demonology teacher had high expectations of Rin?

Suguro let his mind chew things over, they were calling each other brothers, what was up with that? Maybe Sensei had been teaching Rin on the side to keep him up with the class? Suguro frowned. No, because they had just greeted  each other like they hadn't seen one another in a long time? Plus what was with Sensei's little freakout when Rin hugged him? From their words they were family? Why so cold?

The questions spun circles through his head making him dizzy and bringing back his once quelled headache. Rin took no notice and merely doodled on his notebook with a marker, his tongue sticking out slightly in concentration as he drew something or other. A few more students filtered in and Suguro for once folded his arms and let his head rest on them closing his eyes as he tried to still the thoughts still knotting through his brain.

It was minutes before the bell would ring when a quiet buzzing followed by an eight bit ringtone disrupted the otherwise professional classroom air. Rin blushed brightly in embarrassment and without a glance to the caller ID stepped out into the hallway. Flicking open the little orange device Rin regretted it near instantly.

The all too familiar sing-song voice of Satan whispered in his ear. "Well look who decides to pick up. Are you having a good day at school?"

Rin nodded, though Satan was unable to see it. "Yup, got all my books and uniform sorted out by Mepphy."

Rin felt his stomach twist uncomfortably as his Father seemed almost too pleased with this information. "Oh well that's great my favorite child of mine. Well I just woke up, Astaroth was kind enough to wake me. Now I don't know if you remember this but you FORGOT TO CLEAN YOUR GOT DAMN ROOM!" Rin pulled the phone away from his head as demonic screaming nearly bust the speaker. He could still hear Satan's demonic screams now no longer speaking any coherent language as he roared into his end of the line.

"Your room was a god-damn disaster! Did you know how much food filth you had in there? Swords weapons knives all in your walls and under your dirty clothes! What kind of demon are you that you cant keep up after yourself enough to see your own god-damn-floor!" Smiling sheepishly he muttered an apology and flicked the phone shut before running back into the room. He sat down just as the bell rang, signalling the start of class.

Suguro sent Rin an uninterested look and focused his attention to the front of the class. The Prince turned his phone to silent and watched as text message after text message of rage was spammed into his cellular device. Sighing slightly he put the thing at the bottom of his bag. So much for not using his phone to save the charge.

Yukio loudly shuffled some papers together and tapped them against his desk to align them before lying the stack down flat. This seemed to collect everyone's attention. "Hello. I am your teacher, Yukio Okumura. Please call me Sensei. You may have noticed that I am about your age, that is because I started my training very young at the age of seven after receiving my temptaint by accident." Yukio conveniently left out the fact that he had received the temptaint in utero from his twin brother. Who in particular was sat with a wide grin a couple desks away. "I have my Doctor and Dragoon Meister, and later in the semester wen you begin to hone your skills will be training one on one with me or one of our other staff members."

Rin blinked owlishly at his younger sibling. Such information was news to him just as it was for the rest of the class. And suddenly it clicked in his mind at how busy his Otouto had been even since they were kids. How suddenly Yukio wasn't waiting eagerly for Rin to arrive from Gehenna so they could spend time playing together. Rin felt a sting at the back of his eyes as memories flashed in his minds eye however dutifully focused his attention on the lesson Yukio had planned out.

"Those of you who haven't received your temptaint please raise your hands."

Much to Rins surprise Suguro raised his hand. Sat the desk next to them were Shima and Konekomaru, neither of them raised their palms however to the desk behind those two sat a girl in a black hoodie who was not so subtly playing on her game-boy. She seemed to listen in and raised her hand. One or two others raised their hands but RIn paid little attention. He was more curious that Suguro as boastful as he was hadn't received his temptaint.

Rin sighed through his nose, too bad he didn't know earlier, he could have asked some low level demons to mess with his new tutor. Hide his pencils and chew his books, switch his hair dye around or even plop some green dye into his shampoo. He smiled at the thought of messing with the guy but it was too late now.

Yukio called those who had raised their hands up to the front of the class and explained the process of receiving their temptaints, withdrawing a vial of blood that had Rin wrinkling his nose. Eugh, old blood in a tube? Disgusting. No wonder it attracted Astaroths lot of demons. Rin rested an elbow on his desk and used the limb to prop up his head as he watched Suguro get scratched by a hobgoblin. The demon was immediately exorcised and vanished away after the group had been injured. Yukio then went about doctoring them up so their injuries wouldn't progress into anything serious.

The prince sighed and rubbed his nose still irritated by the lingering scent of foul blood.

+T+

The clatter of the shouji doors being pushed open echoed slightly through the monastery's main hall. A wheezing panting eight year old missing a tooth here and there grinned widely has he called out his arrival. "Fujimoto-san! I'm here. Sorry it took so long. Asta-nii-san kept hiding my toothbrush."

Rin toed off his shoes and pulled his backpack off his shoulders to set it near the door. He stared at the bag briefly, freezing up for a second as he listened. However there was nothing to hear as silence was his answer. The demon frowned and quietly slid the door shut behind him before wandering around to the back of the monastery where the living space was.

The little demon prince pulled up his shirt slightly and let his tail slip free. The appendage immediately curling this way and that to free up the stiff muscles. However queit as it was Rin continued to talk aloud. "And then once I tried to cross over Asta dropped me off a whole two blocks away." Rin was still smiling brightly as he rounded into the kitchen. "Pretty weird right?"

No one was in the kitchen, but his nose told him that before he even walked over. He walked about the house until he had checked every room only to find a general lack of the people he wanted to see. The people he couldn't see as often as he liked. The people who apparently didn't want to see him.

Rins smile fell as he headed back to the kitchen, his little demon belly grumbling about its lack of food intake. He reached for the fridge and smiled brightly as he spotted it. A note! With his name on it! Eagerly Rin popped the magnet off the paper and stuck it elsewhere on the fridge.

However the smile dropped as he read the words, very neatly and simply written in Hiragana.

_Rin. If you are reading this then we just missed you! Yukio and I have headed out for an exorcism just out of town. We will be back either late tonight or tomorrow morning. We waited as long as we could so you might come with us. Maybe next time!_

_Fujimoto_

Rin frowned slightly and set the note on the kitchen table. Glancing to the clock it was jsut after ten in the morning. Sighing Rin headed back tot he front of the monastery for his bag and carried it to Yukios room. Maybe if Astaroth hadn't teased him for so long he could have gone with. Rin rubbed his face and climbed up onto his bed. Curled up on his bed, tail tucked between his legs so the poof of a tip was curled in his face.

He napped pleasantly until late at night when hunger truly struck a chord in him. The prince of demons hopped out of bed and ran into the kitchen. His pointed ears twitching slightly as his tail wagged and curled with excitement. "Well if they're going to be back late tonight then I'll make up a dinner for everyone." Rins smile had returned with vigor and he eagerly began cooking up curry and rice. The refrigerator had most all the ingredients he needed and he fudged for what he didn't have. However his eyes sparkled as he spotted some fresh vegetables and eagerly began making up a few plates of kaiseki as well.

Rin was nearly purring with delight at all the food he was making and his happiness nearly shot through the roof as the front door jiggled and slid open. The familiar sound of Fujimoto and Yukio exclaiming their interest in the good smell about the monastery had Rin running out to greet them.

"welcome back!"  Rin was all smiles and tail wags as he hugged Yukio. He was so happy to see the two that he didn't notice that Yukio hadn't hugged him back. Rin merely moved onto Fujimoto and wrapped his arms around his waist. Those massive blue eyes were staring up at the paladin with glee. "I got your note and you said you might be back before tomorrow so I made up a lot of food for everyone!"

Fujimoto chuckled and pulled off his shoes. Patting Rin on the head he grinned down at the little prince. "Oh? And what did you make for us?"

"Curry and rice and something special!" Rins tail didn't stop moving and he pulled Fujimoto by the sleeve towards the kitchen.

The older held fast and chuckled. "Alright alright, let me wash my hands first. Also Maruta and Izumi are out on personal leave so its just the three of us this time."

Rin nodded. 'This time' meaning this visit. This one time a month for only two days that he could be here in Assiah. It sort of hurt that this brief moment no one had time for, this little piece of heaven Rin could visit and no one seemed to be around.

The demon smiled brightly and let go of Fujimoto, instead going to set the table and fill everyone's cups with water. He then ran silently over to Yukios room and knocked politely before letting himself in.

"Hey! I'm changing in here!" The yell started the wits out of Rin and the demon backpedaled.

"O-oh sorry." Rin blinked as the door was shut in his face and awkwardly walked back to sit at the table and wait. Fujimoto was the first to arrive, eager to eat what Rin had made. Yukio came after and sat across from Rin. Something the demon found a little odd but brushed off. Fujimoto filled the awkward quiet with boisterous laughs and jokes that had Rins tail curled high once more. The rice on their plates topped with spicy red-orange chicken curry. Plus a small plate with the vegetable kaiseki Rin had put together.

The dinner ended with Rin beaming at Fujimotos compliments. The twins set about doing the dishes though Rin insisted he could do them by himself. Rin slowly began to feel the silence from Yukio. Once the dishes were done he grabbed his twin by the hand. "Hey whats up are you mad at me or something?"

Yukios glasses glinted as he looked up but he merely shook his head and pulled his hand away with a nervous smile. "No, just tired after all that happened today is all."

Rin watched Yukios eyes as they shifted while he spoke. However he merely nodded and hugged his little brother, trying to ignore the way Yukio tensed up at the contact. "Well its all better now, your Nii-san is here to save you from all the bad demons."

The cheeky smile went ignored as Yukio edged away eyes flicking to the exit he was about to take. "Yeah... bad demons. Ha."

Rin immediately ran off, his heart twisting slightly. The thoughts were coming together and he didn't like what they spelled out for him. The little demon began running himself a bath and frowned at the tub as water gushed in. It was weird how no one ever told him the straight truth, and when everything clicked together like puzzle pieces he realized he didn't like the picture he saw.

Ever since he could remember, Fujimoto was an exorcist right? Who exorcised the bad demons away. Some exorcists could be part demon and they too would exorcise the bad demons. When he was small he knew other kids parents would call him demon and things of that nature, plus the fact that Rin knew he was a demon. He had been told by Fujimoto once that there was a ruler of demons who was the worse of them all but never placed a name.

Rin blinked as another piece fell into place. Well, his father was the biggest demon he knew of. So maybe that was it? The little prince frowned and then shut off the bathwater to climb in, his tail swishing through the water to get rid of all the bubbles caught up in his fur. He figured that would make sense, he had been nicknamed 'little prince' by his demon brothers but that was probably just a joke or something. Rin nodded to himself and suds up a washcloth, quickly scrubbing off little bits of dirt and sweat from his time in Gehenna.

His bath didn't take too long, at least Rin thought he hadn't as Fujimoto had not come in to tell him to hurry up. With his night clothes on and a small towel sat on his head Rin headed back to Yukios room. Knocking lightly he waited an extra moment before letting himself in. This time Yukio was asleep and Rin debated on crawling into his twins bed.

His mind flashed back to how sensitive Yukio had been about his privacy earlier and decided against it, instead he shut the door behind him. His eyes glinting even int he low light, like a wild animals would. Demons, especially of his caliber had excellent night vision, it would take a black void to truly erase their sight, yet even then they could rely on other senses to maneuver. Climbing the small wooden ladder Rin curled back into his earlier spot and position, drawing the blankets over himself this time. The fluff at his tail tip was always so soft, though now it had a raggedy damp feel to it. He flicked the tip away from his face and closed his eyes to sleep, willing the confusing thoughts to leave his head at least for a little while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 5. Rin is unused to the hours that Assiah runs on and with the time difference ends up being late to his highschool classes. Koumaken at his back he hurries off to attend whats left of his english class. Afterwards he attends his science class and then math. During the math class due to the classes general lack of proper education top students from other classes are offered extra credit for becoming tutors to the lesser students. As names are drawn randomly Rin is assigned to be tutored by Ryuuji Suguro for the rest of the semester. The contact information is predistributed so Ryuuji has no ability to keep Rin from saving the phone number on his flip phone. Rin then Heads straight to Cram School, showing up mildly early he runs int his brother Yukio Okumura whom he discovers will be teaching their demonology class. Yukio expects high grades as Rin is himself from gehenna. Rin is extatic to see his twin brother in teacher mode, but before class starts he gets a call from none other than Satan himself as the biological parent has just woken up and wants to have a lovely chat with his favorite son. Rin steps out for a minute and is chewed out for leaving his room a disaster and how Astaroth had spend hours cleaning it. The trash from junk foods and random weapons that were buried under heaps of clothing and rotting food here and there. Rin hangs up as the bell rings and rushes back to class, closing the door behind him as the bell finishes its toll. Suguro is despleased by the late students arrival.


	6. Of Weekends and Studies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you would prefer to skip the fluff I place the writing summary at the bottom of each chapter. Read in record time! Keep in mind the summary is just an outline. The fluff can defer!
> 
> Also in search of a Beta!

It had been nearly two weeks since Ryuuji had been assigned as Rins tutor. To be honest it had been pure torment. The long hours forcing information down the bluenettes throat showed little to no improvement on the guys marks. The guy spent nearly every waking moment procrastinating in one way or another and had an obsession with anime. Nearly endless headaches wracked Ryuuji's brain as he struggled to make up lesson plans that were easier for Rin to read. That was another thing Ryuuji had discovered, the guy was not only bad at math, but also had little to no reading skills past Hirigana characters and basic sentences.

Which led to his current predicament. Ryuuji rested his elbows on his desk and rubbed at his temples. On his desk before him were a lot of Rins homework papers, he had been spending the last hour translating the more complicated Kanji and Katakana to Hirigana so that the _idiot_ could do more of his own homework by himself. Ryuuji sighed and straightened his shoulders, trying to work the stiffness from his shoulders before it grew into real knots of stress.

Once his mini-break was over Ryuuji set to rushing through the last couple pages, stacking them back in an orderly fashion he grinned to himself before standing and sticking the papers back into his bag.

They had mutually decided that Rin working in the library was the worst idea they could come up with. The guy had no sense of library voice and outside voice. Not to mention all the frequent fights they had over the simplest of things like the order of operations and how the problem simply could not be wrong because Rin insisted he did it right. Or the time they had a paper ball fight and ended up using their books to try and bash each others heads in. The librarian had enough of them by that point and simply banned them from the library unless they had special permission as well as adult supervision.

Double checking that everything was in order he grabbed his room keys and hefted his bag onto his shoulder. On the other side of the room Renzou was flipping through some magazine, sat comfortably on his bed where he didn't have to tutor anyone or do anythign aside from relax. "Going out? Or just Rin?"

Ryuuji made a face, "Tch if I didn't have to tutor him I would not be leaving in the first place."

"Ah true. You're such a recluse though, so maybe its good that you have to tutor him?" Renzou looked up at Ryuuji. The guy didn't look any better for getting out of the room every day, but Shima did notice it was forcing the two guys to get along at least a little.

Rin had been spending his time after class in a much different way. While Suguro toiled away at switching out characters Rin was buried deep down low in his own little world. Having recently discovered music the Prince of Demons was jamming to the music he had been introduced to by Shima. He eyed the little flat device in his hands, headphones trailed from the bottom of the rectangle half of the face was a screen while the other half was a thick ring of a button. Swiping his finger one way on it had the volume raise and the other direction had it lower. The buttons on it were pretty self explanatory otherwise.

So far he had been blasting his ears out with what Shima had called wave music or something. The beats and rhythms of each song had Rins heart pounding energetically. It added a whole new dimension to his manga too. He had been nose deep in the second volume of Vampire Knight when the song playing didn't quite fit the emotional mood the pages were offering. He sat up and leaned back into his small heap of pillows, reclining comfortably with his tail out and twitching in contemplation. Rin was busy swiping through the song list when his door was nearly pounded down.

"Hey hey watch it man!" Rin tried not to growl in irritation.

A quick inhale told him was Suguro. Again. This tutoring thing was getting irritating. Setting his book face down open the the page he left off on Rin slipped off of his bed, pulling the back of his sweatpants open to slip his tail down a pant leg. He was sure to regret it after Suguro was done with their study session, all the need to hide his tail was really cramping his lower back muscles.

Rin opened the door and unceremoniously left it hanging open for Suguro to enter. Their eyes met briefly though neither of them had any real energy to fight about their predicament. The human shut the door after he entered and toed off his shoes, he was at least that nice.

"I had to spend the last hour translating words into simpler words for your dumb ass. You could at least be grateful." Suguro set his backpack on Rins bed, pulling out the papers that had been assigned earlier that day and setting them on Rins bed.

The prince rolled his eyes, "Oh yes, thank you for helping me give you extra credit. Selfish." Rin slid into his desk seat already feeling the cramp returning as he reclined lazily over the back of the wooden seat. His tail was just the slightest bit too long to simply hang in his pants leg and had to wrap once around his thigh to keep the tip from dangling in plain view.

Suguro frowned as he spotted the book lying open on the mussed blankets. "You haven't been doing any work yet you call me selfish for helping? I volunteered for this, the extra credit just looks good on my record." Surugo snatched up the book and dog eared the page as he shut it and looked at the cover. He made a face at the cheesy title and characters. "And you read crappy manga to top it off."

Immediately Rin was up in arms about it. Standing he attempted to swipe away the book from Suguros clutches. "You don't have to be a dick! Give that back!"

Suguro grinned widely and stepped back, his free arm pushing Rin away with a sharp shove to the shoulder. "Make me stupid."

Rins eyes narrowed. He swung at Suguro, fully intent on letting the human feel his demonic fury. Suguro managed to catch the punch while tossing rins book onto the floor. Therefore freeing up his other hand and returning the intent to harm by decking Rin in the face and shoving him away.

"Ack! Damnit!" Rin rubbed his cheek and glared at the blood that smudged from his split lip. He saw red now, and lunged at Suguro sparing no thought for the contents of his own room. Suguro grunted as he was slammed back against the wall and nearly puked as Rins pale fist planted in his gut.

The cockscomb shoved Rin off and wrestled him down to the floor, one leg sliding into the crook of his knee and the bluenett was brought down hard on his back. Immediately Rin tried to get the upper hand and nearly succeeded, until his tail lashing about in his pants slipped free. Suguro didnt notice the newest addition to Rins arsenal of appendages and pinned the smaller male down. He briefly did notice that Rin had ceasefired but chalked it up to him being pinned down. Rearing back a fist to pummel Rins face in he froze as something furry wrapped tightly around his wrist and held fast.

The aggressive air was suddenly replaced with awkward quiet filled only with their heavy breaths. Thrown off of his game Suguro stared at the black lion like tail curled about his wrist, his mind noted that the tails uniquely blue-black fur color matched Rins mop of messy hair to a T.

"Um. If you could get off that would be great." Rin had decided the best method of action was to hide his face and come up with some excuse as fast as he could. His arm could somewhat hide his panicked expression while Suguro figured out what he would do next. Suguro jumped, briefly tearing his eyes from the tail to Rins hidden face and nodded.

"Yeah. Uh. What the hell?" Suguro couldn't go far as the tail was still wrapped tight. It was in this moment that his eyes followed the appendage to where it slipped under Rins back and presumably attached. He nearly smacked himself. Of course the thing was Rins! Where else would it come from?

"Its uh." Rin sat up and the tail slipped loose from his tutors wrist. As if nervous Rins tail curled up behind himself. "Because I'm part demon?" He dished out his best shit eating grin and hoped Suguro wouldn't try to kill him. The motion stretched his split lip drawing a little more blood out of the wound.

Not that they hadn't been fighting semi-seriously earlier, but still.

The dash Suguro made for the door was only partly anticipated and Rin was on his feet blocking the closed door. "Wait wait wait! Hear me out ok? I'm here on permission! I have the Paladins grace in this! Sir Pheles requested it for me." Rin was waving his hands about as if trying to clear away any issues.

"I don't give a shit. There's no way I'm going to tutor some fucking demon." Suguros glare was acidic. "No wonder I didn't like you. You're just some demon brat!"

Rin frowned at that. It wasn't like he hadn't heard it before as a kid but it didn't make the words hurt any less hearing them again. "Now that's uncalled for man. I'm here for my education just like everyone else."

The two were edging back and forth, Suguro trying to escape and Rin trying to block. Though it seemed Rins words were having at least a little effect on the human as he settled for just standing and eying Rin like he was the most suspicious thing in the world. However Rin was caving badly, the words Suguro had said were stirring up memories he kept buried.

"You want to hang out and talk about it? Or are you just going to go back to hating me for no reason." Rin crossed his arms, tail curling low to the floor.

Suguro frowned. "There was definitely a good reason." The cockscombed male sighed and walked back to Rins bed to pick up the papers and sit down. "But you are definitely not worth me losing my scholarship over." Dark brown eyes gave the demon a pointed look. "It's whatever for now, but you better do your damn work or I'll cut your tail off and wear it as a belt."

Rins tail fluffed as chills ran up his back. The thought of his tail being snipped off was one he would rather not have in his head and nodded. "Cool, but it would be nice if you could swear this to secrecy. Sir Pheles sort of made keeping my heritage a secret as one of the conditions of me being here."

Suguro huffed but patted the bed space beside him. Rin plopped into the spot, his tail laid in an arc behind the both of them with the fluffy tip twitching this way and that.

"So what are you exactly then?"

Rin jumped at the question. "Well its a little weird, my mom was an incubus and ditched me at my fathers house after having an affair with a him." Rin rubbed the back of his head and stared at the floor, hoping he looked a little lost in memory or something enough to sell the story. "But my father didn't want me either and he didn't want a kid with a tail. I think he was married too. Anyways he ditched me at a monastery and that's the last I know of. Just a kid nobody wanted in a basket with a note."

Suguro eyed Rin nodding in acceptance of the story for a few minutes. "Fair enough.. Didn't mean to dig up your past or nothing." Brown eyes drifted along the white walls and stopped on a splattering of fresh blood on Rins wall.

The demon smiled slightly, just a little lifting of the corners of his mouth. His tail swished this way and that in nervousness, something Suguro did not miss but chalked up to his classmate being nervous about his secret getting out. "Its cool. You wanna tell me your life story to even it out?"

Suguro shoved Rin slightly, "Hell no. This isn't some question game here. Now focus on your math before I force you to eat these damn papers." He held the paper clipped pages out to Rin and he took them. Blue eyes flitted over the page, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth as he noticed Suguro had in fact switched out the characters for simpler ones.

Brown eyes twitched as blue glanced over making a small bit of awkward eye contact. "What? You didn't bust up my face too bad right?" Rins pale fingers poked at his split and slightly swollen lip.

"No." Suguro looked away and busied himself with pulling out his own homework. "Just making sure you were focusing was all."

Rin frowned, possibly the first one since he had come to Assiah. "Yup." He turned his attention back to his paper and then stood to sit at his desk. Suguro followed suit and sat at the empty desk situated for whoever Rins roommate would be. Though now Suguro saw why Rin was lacking in that particular department. A demon roommate would be the last thing he wanted to see at an Exorcist Cram School of all places.

"You have a surprise test coming tomorrow."

Rins tail tip fluffed and he stared jaw dropped at his tutor. "No way!"

Suguro nodded, his eyes drawn to how expressive Rins tail was. "Yes, so you better listen to me for once and actually remember what I tell you."

The tail swished and then curled in confidence. "Yosh! I'll do whatever it takes." It was now wagging back and forth as Rin hunched over his desk and set to furiously working away at the Foil Method math problems.

He found it rather... endearing.

+T+

Being the weekend the two had endless hours to study together. However there always came a time for food and Rin was ecstatic about the break in monotony. While mathematics was an engaging subject for some; i.e. Suguro. Rin found that getting out of the stuffy building and being outside was his true calling.

Suguro witnessed for the first time how Rin hid his otherworldly appendage. They had been just heading out the door when Rin paused and fast as a flash the thin black tail slipped neatly into his sweatpants. While trying not to seem like a creep he stared point blank as the tail all but vanished. There had been just the smallest of movement from the tail ever since.

The duo was currently walking down an open corridor, Rin smiling and chatting about the clouds of all things. Apparently most all his classes were basic level, and currently Rin was being taught the nature of the clouds and what all their different shapes mean.

For once, Suguro's regularly appearing headaches and pains did not rear their ugly heads and he allowed himself the smallest interest into Rins mostly one sided conversation.

"I only really pay attention to the clouds if they are looking like they will rain." Suguro stuffed his hands in his pockets, side glancing to the demon.

Rin was flashing a wide smile, and for the first time Suguro seemed to notice the none too human fangs Rin had hidden in there. Not that it was very well hidden, Rin never seemed to stop smiling or laughing about one stupid thing or another. "Well I like to look at the sky. The clouds or the stars or anything really." Rin scratched his cheek and blushed brightly. "I would bet that's why people don't think I pay attention though."

The human scoffed. "I know for a _fact_ that you don't pay attention. I'm your tutor."

"But the clouds are cool. They have so many shapes and they're so fluffy and soft looking. Where I come from there are no clouds or night sky or anything nice like that." Rin crossed his arms and turned his head away defiantly. "You people take everything for granted up here."

Those words had Suguros heart clenching nervously. However Rin didn't seem to notice as he nose twitched at the smell of food. He abandoned their conversation in favor of speed walking to the line. Suguro followed at a much slower pace, ending up right next to his hurried classmate.

Waiting in line took little to no time at all, the kitchen was dark though the serving counter was pushing out tray after tray of delicious smelling Yakimono without more than a couple seconds wait. Each tray was beautifully dressed giving students a brief moment of awe as they walked to a table to sit down. Rin called a thank you into the darkness that was the kitchen but hurried out of the way as another tray was spit out.

Suguro merely huffed at Rins weirdness and took his tray. He had spotted Shima and Konekomaru when he had been waiting in line and made his way over to sit with the two.

Shima grinned at Suguro's arrival. "About time Bon, I thought they'd run out before you got here." Shima was munching on a stick of grilled pork as he spoke.

Konekomaru smiled politely at his friends arrival. "How did the studying go?" The sharp lensed eyes did not miss the small bruises on Suguros face.

"It went well. He just might remember some of it." Suguro eyed his plate. There were several flavors of meat and vegetable grilled on sticks, plus steamed noodles and chopped vegetables on the side. he decided to start on the steamed vegetables and slipped his chopsticks from the sleeve.

Shima suddenly perked up as he spotted Rin. The guy had isolated himself and sat at an empty table at the edge of the cafeteria. However Shimas eyes zeroed in on Rins purple jaw and the rosette pointed the sharp end of his skewer at Suguro. "What did you do?" He then pointed the stick to Rin, drawing two sets of eyes to look at their lonely seeming classmate.

"Bon you might have hit him too hard?" Konekomaru felt bad for Rin. Seeing the guy who was normally all smiles suddenly look so sullen.

Suguro looked over and then back to his food. "Eh, he sat over there. He _could_ have sat here but he didn't." He scooped up some of the noodles and unceremoniously stuffed his face, as if that would end the topic.

Shima grinned. "Good idea Bon!"

"What? No." Brown eyes shot open in shock but it was too late. Shima had already walked over and was chatting with Rin. Suguro felt a pang of worry, Shima didn't know Rin was a demon. What if Rin decided to hurt him?

They were just out of earshot but Rin seemed to politely decline and rubbed his face. The two shared a laugh and Shima walked back. "Damn Bon." Shima sat back down and swiped up his chopsticks. "You shouldn't hit people for not being good at math." Shima chuckled

Suguro shrugged slightly but glanced back over at Rin. "He had it coming." The cockscombed male frowned slightly as he noticed Rin was just staring at his food.

Konekomaru gave him a nudge. "Bon you beat up the new guy cause he's not a genius? Not everyone's as smart as you are."

An indistinguishable feeling twisted in Suguros gut and he sighed. "Fine. Just guilt trip me some more will ya?"

Trying not to let his jaw drop Shima and Konekomaru watched as Suguro not only stood, but also collected his tray and moved two tables over to sit next to Rin. The rosette snickered and watched as Rin immediately perked up. "Damn it's never been that easy to change his mind." Shima propped his head up with his free hand and smirked as he watched the two from afar.

Konekomaru shrugged and like the dutiful sheep he was set back to eating. "Well I mean Bons not gay right? No worries."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few weeks have passed and Suguro and Rin have a rough time working together, Suguro harps on Rin as Suguro only gains his extra credit if Rins grades stay top notch in his classes. Suguro claims to need the extra credit so he can keep his marks high and keep his scholarship. resulting in the two study in Rins dorm room to try and improve Rins grades before the upcoming test. They are doing basic algebra though Rin is having a hard time grasping some methods of multiplication. Their closeness in working together reveals that Rin hates studying and would rather read manga. The two fight and wrestle dealing only minor injuries to one another before Rins tail lashing about in his shirt, breaks free. The two then have another argument about Rin being a half demon. Rin is vague and claims his mother was a succubus or something and that he's a perfectly harmless halfbreed. The two resume studying though now suguro dislikes Rin even more. The day ends and the two head down to the dorm cafeteria where the headmasters demonic familiar was serving yakimono by the masses. Trays slid out from the kitchen dressed to perfection, and it was just enough to keep the line moving at a slow pace. Suguro breaks away from the half demon and goes to sit with the other two from the Cram school classes. The pink haired one, who Rin would later find out is called Renzo Shima waves an arm at Rin to invite him over. Suguro urges Renzo to stop it and Rin decides to sit by himself at an empty table.


	7. Of Steak-Fries and Butterflies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you would prefer to skip the fluff I place the writing summary at the bottom of each chapter. Read in record time! Keep in mind the summary is just an outline. The fluff can defer!
> 
> Also in search of a Beta!

The familiar noise of the end of class bell was possibly one of Rins favorite noises. Though the lovely ding of kitchen timers being finished with their countdown was just as high up on his list. However the noise brought the Prince of Demons no joy today. It was now lunch time and Rin shouldered his back pack and the kurikara before slouching his way out of the classroom. Mephisto had gotten on his case early this morning about how he was not carrying the damn thing around all the time and that he should be more careful.

Rin fully understood why Mephisto had gotten so angry at him, the sword was as much of an asset as it was a crutch. If anyone were to get a hold of it and unsheathe it he would be hard pressed to resume concealing his demonic appearance until the sword was returned to its sheathe. Or worse if someone broke the sword he would be forced to take on his demonic form and he would be unable to conceal his presence from all the exorcists that blanketed the area. Near immediately after such an instance the demonically inclined would feel the immense pressure of a high level demon, the pressure that they called an 'evil presence.'

He sighed as his feet took him the route towards the cafeteria. For once he was glad that no one he knew was around just yet. Anyone he knew would surely mean Suguro was just moments away, and the demon with all of his want to befriend that human in particular didn't want to be interrogated by him just yet. Shuffling down the line he picked up his tray of food. It was foreign foods day so the meal of the day were freshly grilled burgers and fries accompanied by a cup for water from the drink fountain.

The demon  filled his cup and then moved to sit by himself, picking at his food distastefully. He loved food yes, and loved to cook it himself even more, but he had never fancied American food culture. Gehennan food was of course his favorite due to its vibrant almost poisonous colors and miasmic fragrances. Rins sour mood did nothing to deter a certain bald headed individual as they spotted him, called out and then hurried over.

Konekomaru sat down next to Rin with a friendly face and energy. "Hey Rin! how was class today?"

Rin merely shrugged with a sigh and picked up a fat flat french fry and nibbled at one crispy golden edge. "Not good. Suguros gonna strangle me."

The bald boy merely smiled. "It can't be that bad. What happened?"

"Failed a test he drilled me for. Teach said that if I didn't improve I would be negatively influencing Suguros chances for getting a good mark on his files or something."

The smile dropped and Konekomaru nodded and briefly raised both his hands together in a prayer like motion his face suddenly solemn. "Good luck. I hope you endure Bons wrath well." The boy returned to normal a split second later with a small grin and the demon briefly wondered if the motion had been meant to be a joking prayer to his god.

RIn chuckled and munched the fry he held.

"Is that why you brought a sword with you today?"

Rin nearly choked as the voice of Shima came from behind him. The rosette chuckled and sat down on the other side of Rin.

"W-What? No its just a family heirloom that I was told to always have with me." Rin chugged his water and cleared his throat of the last bits of lodged french fry.

Shima smirked and rolled his eyes. "You know Bons pretty good at fights, might not look like it with all his studying but he got into his own share of scraps as a kid. Mostly over the Blue Night."

Rin was about to ask what the blue night was when Suguro loudly clattered his tray down next to Shima. A tanned hand shoved the pink haired boys head towards his tray and only sheer reflex and neck strength kept Shimas face from planting into his ketchup.

"Stop telling strangers about my life." Suguro huffed. He said nothing briefly as he spread mayonnaise and ketchup onto his burger bun and then decorated it with lettuce tomato and onion. "Gah I can't believe this school would serve such crap."

Rin hummed his agreement and pushed the plate away so he could rest his elbows on the table top. Picking another french fry off of his tray Rin debated on how best to break the news to Suguro. The human was destined to be displeased but Rin was hoping he could do it with as little confrontation as possible.

Shima slipped out from his spot, having been arguing with Suguro that the food wasn't that bad and insistently stood to get another serving of the 'steak' fries. Rin blinked. There was no meat in the spud product was there? He eyed the french fry suspiciously and then set it down.

His train of thought was further destroyed as Suguro made use of the now open space between them. "So how'd your test go?" Like wise Suguros only interest in the meal were the wide flat french fries. What a weird shape.

Rin devoted his full attention to the tray before him and picked up his discarded fry. "Well... not good?" It was a statement that twisted nervously and sounded more like a question at the end. Cobalt eyes flicked over briefly and then Rin in surprise turned to stare at Suguros shocked expression.

"We studied all night for that! How could you fail it." Suguros shock quickly turned into sour anger. All those hours studying and drilling Rin to ensure he understood the processes to complete all the possible questions the test could have asked. Just gone, wasted away like it had been nothing! Suguro felt the anger pile up and glared hard at Rin. What a waste of effort.

The demon frowned and mentally put a lock on his tail, refraining from flicking it with irritation. "It's not like I did it on purpose." Rin stood abruptly and removed his tray from the table. He stepped away a few feet to toss the uneaten food into the trash and returned to gather his things. "Sorry I'm not smart enough to help your extra credit." Rin snapped bitterly and stormed off, adjusting the strap of the Kurikaras bag as he shouldered his back pack on top of it.

Suguro had more interest in chasing down Rin than he did in eating the greasy excuse for food and stood just as Shima returned with a fresh plate of steaming hot fries on his tray. "Where are you going? Lunch barely started." Shima sputtered as he set his tray down.

The cockscombed male shook his head. "Rin failed his damn test and this food is disgusting. You can have it if you like it so much."

Shima blinked in surprise as Suguro suddenly grabbed his back pack form the floor and went speed walking after Rin. The two wove between the tables briefly and RIn obviously made it out of the dining area first closely followed by his tutor.

"Wait!" Suguro growled, and jogged briefly to close the distance between them. Rin surprised him by coming to a stop and Suguro side stepped to keep from bumping into the bluenette.

"What? You want to see how stupid I am?" Rin bit out and pulled his backpack around, one strap over his shoulder to support the bag so both of his hands were free to unzip and dig through the expanse of pockets. Rins glare darkened as he pulled the paper out and shoved it at Suguro.

The human caught it before it slipped to the floor. His jaw nearly fell to the floor as he spotted the big fat numbers. Accompanied by a frowny face that lacked all artistic expression. "A twenty two? How did you..." Suguro cut himself off and read through the problems. The first page was beautiful, perfectly neat handwriting accompanied by correct answers and a well explained work check next to each answer.

He turned the page and his expression turned confused as he saw the neat handwriting turn smudged and cluttered. The numbers all bunched together in one area and in another they were too far apart to discern if they were stand alone numbers or one big amount. The check work portion was just as messy and indiscernible as the rest of it.

Rin was staring at the floors, inspecting the tile work and stone quality, the walls and their paintings that hung upon them. Down the hall there was a news board pin-cushioned with colorful papers that drew attention to clubs, events, job opportunities, tutors by the hour and the like. He looked at anything but Suguros face as his expression turned from one to another. To Rins limited knowledge of humans he wasn't sure if the male was in pain or just angry, he wasn't sure sometimes but dared not ask.

"Yeah twenty two. What of it. I'm not smart like everyone else ok?"

"You only answered fifteen questions. Out of fifty." Suguro's frown never left and he recognized some of the problems as very similiar to some that he had worked with Rin through the night before.

Rin sighed and ran a hand through his hair, long blue black bangs falling back into place as he nodded. "I... I'm not sure what happened. one minute I'm doing just fine and then... poof its gone." Rin sighed again but this time in frustration. "All the letters were just mashing into one another and they slipped around and One word shows up here and another there and I couldn't make sense of any of it."

Suguro stared at the paper and then squinted at the characters. They were mostly hiragana and katakana, things Rin could read. However Suguro nodded anyways. "Ok then. Well I'll see if I can convince the teacher to let you retake the test. You probably just stressed about it too much and got confused."

Rin slumped. Now he had to take the blasted thing again? "Whatever." Rin shrugged with a distinct lack of enthusiasm and slumped along. What with the day school being over it was time for Cram school to begin in an hours time after lunch ended. Lunch itself had another hour to it which left Rin to meander. Shockingly Suguro kept with him and the two quietly explored the campus.

"So how are your other classes doing?"

The question broke Rin out of his thoughts concerning bees and flowers. He had been staring at a large tree bearing many hundreds of flowers. The little insects mercilessly plundered the blossoms before departing to either another flower or to parts unknown.

Rin shrugged. "Not too well I suppose. I have you to try and help me through one of my classes at least." Blue eyes never left the tree. The two were stood on an open walkway and were eye level with the bright white blossoms of the tree.

Suguro cringed slightly, "Well if you can pass the retake of the test, if I can even convince the teacher to do that. I'll help with your other classes too."

A small smile grew on Rins face and the stress knot that had been growing inside him all day finally gave a twist of relief and comfort. "That'd be awesome Sug."

"Don't!" The human snapped. "Don't call me that."

The demon merely sent him a coy smile.

+T+

The group of teens had since departed from the lunch tables in the cafeteria and with the appearance of sneaky children getting up to things they shouldn't found a door out of the way enough to enter the Cram school. Shima was the one who pulled his key out first and as the door was pushed open Rin was reminded of his appreciation for Mephistos magical talent. Not many had the sheer ingenuity his brother did. Magic keys of all things to take you from one place to another was a very cost effective and decently efficient method of getting his employees around.

With the door securely shut behind them so no day class students could sneak in after them they made their way down the hall towards their class room. the room was old and haggard but never changed, something Rin took comfort in knowing he would never be confused as to which room was needed for what class. The teachers worried about that. A smile stretched over Rins face as a familiar scent touched his nose.

"Whats got you happy. Excited for class for once?" Shima teased. It was no unknown matter that Rins grades were atrocious.

Rin shrugged, "Nah, my brother is teaching the demonology course right? Just happy to see him."

"What you didn't meet up to do family things?" Konekomaru asked curiously.

"He's got a busy life is all."

The door was within reach and rin pushed it open as he was closest. Yukio was already stood at the chalk board and had drawn eight familiar symbols onto its surface. The group came in and sat down at their respective seats RIn sitting gleefully next to Suguro as he watched his little brother prepare for the lesson. This class would definitely be the easiest. Especially today as RIn recognized the eight symbols as the crests for each Demon King of Gehenna.

He had to hide his bubbling excitement, this was new material for the rest of the class but for him it was what he had grown up around.

The bell rang just as Yukio finished his ever neat and perfect scrawl. Their teacher turned in his heel and stood perfectly straight as he faced the class. A small smile graced his lips as he spotted Rin nearly beaming at him. A wash of relief poured over Yukio had not only was Rin happy to be in class but had managed to be perfectly on time as well.

"Good afternoon. Today you will learn about the eight demon kings of Gehenna and the demons they control." Yukio instructed the class to turn their books to a specific page. Rin let Suguro do the page turning as he felt confident he wouldn't need the book to answer any of Yukios questions. He had grown up with these demons and knew things that no text book could ever provide the knowledge of.

The lecture began simple enough, explaining what king had reign over what demons, the general strengths and weaknesses of such demons. Which ones to call for assistance with and things to look for when fighting one demon type or another. The lecture would be split up into several days and their first focus would be on the King of Rot.

Rins distaste for the demon king showed clear as day on his face as a small glare and frown stirred up. The King of Rot was just that. A rotten foul and perverse demon. Though as Rin thought about the other kings of whom he didn't spend as much time around, they were all pretty wacky in their own ways.

"What is the true name of the King of Rot? If anyone knows?" Yukio asked.

"That's Astaroth!" Rin perked right up as he said the name without hesitation.

Yuiko went pale and Suguro looked at Rin oddly. With a nudge Suguro pointed Rins attention to the book where it clearly said that none of the Demon Kings appearances or their true names had ever been recorded.

Rin swallowed thickly and nodded. "Ah my bad." Rin grinned stupidly, hoping he could fake off the mistake.

"Please pay attention and read along as we go Okumura." Yukio sent him a warning glare and resumed the lecture. After a few minutes passed Yukio had only become more and more stressed. He called for a small ten minute break after a long silence. As the students began milling about Rin did not miss the look Yukio sent him. Standing Rin made some lame excuse about going to the bathroom and exited the room after Yukio.

Once outside Rin sighed and crossed his arms. "What?"

A vein in Yukios neck pulsed with irritation. "'What?' That's all you have to say? Are you so oblivious to the danger around you? You nearly blew your cover." Yukio spoke in a hushed but still angry tone. Not wanting to draw attention to them with a loud argument.

Rin glared at him. "I'm sorry ok? You said you expected stuff of me in this class and for once I know more than the books can explain!" The demon sighed and he had to remind his tail not to fidget as he endured under Yukios harsh stare. "I'll be sure to keep it to myself next time. Don't worry."

Yukio made a face Rin couldn't identify and then smiled slightly. "Just be careful Nii-san."

Rin had to resist the urge to noogie his brother and nodded with a grin before returning to the classroom and eventually his desk. After starting a short chat with Suguro explaining his mishap he was cut off as Yukio resumed class. He immediately delved into the lore of the demon kings and their terrible deeds and woes they had brought upon human kind. Rin found his energy sapped as he learning in a very brutal manner all the bad that his older siblings had wreaked upon the world of Assiah.

His stomach twisted as he both listened and read about the King of Rot who had created the great plague known as the Impure King. How its disease had ravaged Assiah under the uncontrollable demon for years nearly wiping out the human population. The demon was eventually vanquished with a demon killing sword known as the Kurikara and the eye of the king was sealed off somewhere safe.

More tales were recounted under the King of Rots domain of sinister mold and fungi demons that wrought havoc with disease and poisons. Each tale was more devastating and evil than the last, the knowledge of such doings had his mind reeling. His brothers had mentioned playing around in Assiah many years before he was born, but none of their retelling had left such a bitter taste in his mouth. Briefly Yukio mentioned how they would be going over the next King tomorrow as they were out of time for today. Rins heart twisted slightly and a panicked thought burned in his mind. Were all the tales of demons written down like this? Their stories recorded with such biased hatred and distaste.

Rin blinked as another thought crossed him and it left a bitter taste in his mouth. It was no wonder that many of his older brothers had retreated to Gehenna or departed to unknown locations of Assiah.

Only the victors write the history books.

+T+

The prince of demons left class with a pale face and an awkward thousand yard stare. He was following Suguro blindly as his mind whirled around, like a dust devil in an open patch of desert. The thoughts and newfound knowledge spinning through his head. The girls from class, whom he vaguely knew as Paku and Kamiki but wasn't sure which one was which, shouldered past the unobservant demon. The one with long pigtails made some sour comment at him that he didn't hear.

Konekomaru of all people snapped back at her before either Shima or Suguro could get a word in edge wise, surprising the Kyoto boys.

Yukio seemed worried but smothered the expression with a stern look and shuffled his papers together, put his items away and departed.

The whole time Rin was dead to his surroundings. It was difficult to know who was right and who was wrong now. Hands on his shoulders sort of jostled him back into the present moment and Rin blinked looking up into a pair of concerned brown eyes. The eyebrows were still drawn together in a scowl but it was somehow softer.

"Hey man you good?"

Rin nodded not sure if he could trust his voice to keep what was in his mind from spilling out. Suguro nodded back and patted Rin's shoulder.

"Well class is over so we've got about an hour to study today, nothing too bad." Suguro rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. It was weird for him to try to make conversation with the bluenette. Normally Rin wouldn't shut up, and constantly filled the air with his nonsense conversation.

The demon seemed to be getting his feet back under him as they walked, Shima and Konekomaru a couple paces ahead. "Yeah, you wanna help me with my reading or English today?"

The human looked at him oddly. Was this really Rin? The guy who refused every second of study and learning unless it was forced into his brain?

"Yeah sure."

Rin nodded and a small smile grew on his face. The two split off from Shima and Konekomaru with a brief departing conversation and headed up to Rins dorm room to study. Suguro walked behind the demon, noticing the shifting of a tail under Rins left pant leg. As Rin approached his dorm room door he paused and sighed, "Do we have to study today?"

Suguro eyed Rin, the odd behavior was throwing him off pretty badly. "Not really, but I still want to talk to ya."

Rin nodded, his back to Suguro. "Fair enough." The key was inserted and the panel swung inward. Once the two were inside Rin's attempt attempt at normalcy seemed to fade back from whence it came. His tail slipped out and drooped toward the floor, the end of it coiling around one ankle as he dropped his sword and backpack on the floor. The demon winced slightly as the sword clattered and he scooped it back up to lean it against the wall.

Suguro set his bag on the floor before moving to sit on Rins bed. The demon sat down next to him but said nothing, his eyes distant as he stared at the floor.

"Whats wrong man?" Suguro had a vague idea of what was going through Rins mind but for some reason, seeing Rin so distraught had left his chest tight and laced him with worry.

The demon sighed slumping to lean his elbows on his knees. "I didn't know... about any of that." He waved a hand vaguely.

The human shrugged. "I mean that's why I'm training to become an exorcist, so I can stop crap like that from happening again."

Rin looked up at Suguro, his blue eyes huge and watery. It reminded Suguro of a sad kitten. "But I didn't know that demons had done such things to people. Its terrible!" A thought crossed his mind and it felt like he had doused an open wound with salt.

"No wonder you hate me."

The words struck Suguro like a hot knife, a sharp pinch in his chest that nearly made him dizzy. "What? I don't hate you. Not anymore at least. And stop mulling about the past, all of this happened hundreds of years ago." He snapped at the demon.

Sad blue eyes were still fixed on Suguros steadfast brown and Rin deflated under his gaze. The long thin tail had moved from his ankle and was now curled behind them on the bed. The fluffy tip slipped around Suguros wrist, briefly startling the human though he didn't shake it off.

Rin tore his eyes away from Suguro and he dug around the side of his bed briefly to grab a tissue box. He wiped his face a little and then sent the human a small smile. "I guess we demons have done a lot of harm though." The demon scooted closer to Suguro and his tail twitched against Suguros thick forearm. The smile spread genuinely as he looked back up at Suguro, cheeks pink from his brief crying session. "So we demon bred exorcists have a lot to make up for."

The human stared back at Rin and couldn't help but give a little smile back at the honest face of a demon. A demon that wanted to do good. He felt a bubble of respect for the demon growing from Rins words and behavior. However he quickly shut down the bubbling giddiness and fluttering of his insides as Rin stared at him longer than needed.

"Yeah you do, so lets start on that math test you failed today."

The demon groaned miserably.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 7. The test results are returned and Suguro fights with Rin after his mathclass ends. They have another argument on how Rin is failing and the demon explains how he never got any proper education and begins to resent Satan just a bit for not letting him go to school ever. Suguro lets the topic drop as its revealed that Rin had never gone to school before. The cockscomb male asks rin if he needs help in any of his other classes. Rin shows Suguro hiw grades for his other classes and Suguro is stunned but offers his study abilities for the english, remedial writing and reading, and science class. Lunch time. Renzo Shima comes to sit with Rin, followed by the timid Konekomaru and as Suguro hears the laugher of Shima joins the group as well. Cram school starts after the lunch period is over and as Rins tutor Suguro requests that Rin get himself a planner to help keep track of his homework. The group go to their demonology class let by yukio and learn of the 8 different kings. Rin is confused by the lesson, as he knows the kings personally he calls them by their familiar names instead of the text book answers. Yukio pulls Rin aside mid way through the class and warns him against doing so as it could blow his cover. Rin returns to his front row seat and attempts to follow the lesson through the book and is shocked to learn of the way that his kin were recorded.


	8. Of New Girls and Field Trips

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you would prefer to skip the fluff I place the writing summary at the bottom of each chapter. Read in record time!
> 
> Also in search of a Beta!

It was a bright brand new day, the wind was warm against his skin and the sun was bright with a few white fluffy clouds decorating the sky. Somehow in the past few days Suguro had convinced the teacher to let Rin retake his test with a few changes made to the characters. The difference was like night and day. A beaming smile split the demons face as he nearly paraded out of his last day class with a stapled bit of papers in hand, a bright red ninety four with a star drawing under it.

The bright and cheery attitude barely faltered as he was bumped into by someone unfamiliar. A girl oddly enough wearing a kimono of all things and with a nervous awkward expression on her face.

"Hey are you-"

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to bump into you!" She cut him off before he could ask if she needed help or anything and then the girl ran off, her sandals clakak-ing loudly as she left. Rin blinked at her sudden intrusion and then departure but shrugged it off, returning to his eager thoughts of showing Suguro the new test results.

His path was cut off once again as he neared the cafeteria. Yukio stood before him this time, he seemed a little worried about something but a flash of relief passed over his face as Rin stopped by him.

Rin smiled at his brother and proudly held his chin high, his spirits never to fall at this rate. "Hey Yukio! What are you doing out so early? And why the uniform? Its day class students and stuff."

Yukios glasses glinted briefly in the light as he glanced around. "I'll need you to head straight to the Cram classroom, I'm trying to gather everyone up. We're going on a field trip today."

THe demons eyes brightened and he felt as though his day could not get any better. "What no way! Awesome I'll head there now!"

"If you see anyone else be sure to take them with you. I will be there to explain in a moment."

Rin was too busy humming with excitement to really pay attention to his surroundings. Finding the closest locked door he was nearly intercepted by a thick tanned arm holding a key identical to his own. Blue eyes flitted up to meet Suguros and Rins face flushed slightly. An unfamiliar sensation twisted in his gut and Rin tried to quell the feeling with small talk.

"Hey! Have you seen Yukio?"

Blonde hair flipped about slightly as if the gel he used wasnt as effective today. "Yea, something about a field trip?"

Rin nodded enthusiastically as Suguro went ahead and opened the door, the portal once leading to a locked classroom now leading to the grand tile hallways of the Cram School. The duo walked slowly to their classroom to find Kamiki and Paku stood waiting already. Rins eyes widened briefly as he spotted that kimono girl that had bumped into him earlier. She made some brief eye contact and then looked away flustered.

The demon felt his face heat and sent a shy glance to Suguro. The cockscombed male paid the new girl no mind and actually seemed a little off himself all of a sudden. Shima and Konekomaru came up behind them followed by Takara and Yamada. The last to join he was always playing that video game and Takara was conversing with his rabbit puppet.

Rin frowned slightly as the last two joined them, he could feel the presence of a demon in the puppet, it stirred a fiery protective feeling inside him. And Yamada he could smell for certain was a female. However before he could focus on them any longer his concentration was taken by Yukio.

Their teacher greeted them to gain their attention. "Over the next two days you will be sent out on a preliminary test. Your mission will be to clear a small park of possessed material objects. This will test your knowledge of Arias and the Grimoare. Please head to your dorms to pack for a two night trip and then return to the class room within the next half hour."

Suguro nodded sharply already culminating a list of the minimalist things he would bring. Rin seemed to pale slightly but Suguro paid it little mind. His stomach was still twisted with the sour feeling of jealousy that Rin had blushed at the sight of a girl. He wasn't sure exactly why he was jealous and chalked it up to the fact that maybe he himself was interested in the girl too? He shook his head slightly and as Yukio dismissed everyone Suguro mulled over Rins reaction to the new girl.

The demon was however right next to Suguro mulling over completely different things than the Aria in training. How would he hide his tail? He knew he wasnt the greatest at keeping control over it while he was asleep and the sleeping situation was camping, which meant tents, which meant sharing. Rin merely Kept his thoguhts to himself and painted on an excited face as Konekomaru elbowed him and re-asked his question.

Rin defaulted to a cheery response which he hoped would be adequate. "Yeah 'm excited! Haha just wondering who I'm gonna be sharing a tent with."

Shima went starry eyed. "I hope I can share with the new girl! Have you seen her chest? Its so"

The rosette made some undignified noise that had Rin red in the face and Konekomaru sputtering about how inappropriate it was to say something like that about a classmate, especially a new girl.

Suguro only heard half their conversation and made an indecisive noise before splitting off to his and Shimas shared dorm. An odd feeling bubbled uncomfortably in Rins chest as Suguro split off without a word. Heading past the two friends left he smiled slightly to cover up his odd feelings and hurried into his room to pack.

+T+

The students were gathered inside their classroom once again as promptly as they could be. Such an event pleased Yukio immensely, especially as his brother came in trailing his tutor Suguro. Idly he noticed an awkward air between them but brushed it off as Rin began smiling so excitedly at Yukio he was sure Rin had enough energy to power the sun twice over. Briefly Yukio went over their assignment once more before standing at the door and passing out mission folders as each student left the room. He sent Yamada an un-amused look as the student walked by completely oblivious to Yukio handing him the folder.

It took nearly no time at all as Yukio pulled out a massive key ring and after flicking unhurriedly through one or two keys unlocked a door to a coffee shop across the street from the park. Suguro immediately could feel the difference in the air. A heavy almost fog like feeling filled the otherwise clear midday air. Rin was unfazed by it as he stepped out of the doorway followed by Yamada who he could swear was less than a couple inches away. The feeling was more uncomfortable than the presence of so many low level demons around. Awkwardly Rin side stepped around Suguro to stand with Yamada opposite. Suguro raised an eyebrow at the odd behavior but let it slide. Yamada was pretty weird so he sort of felt bad for the demon.

They were instructed to collect several large duffel bags from the shops cleared dining area and Rin easily shouldered the pack. He chuckled as Suguro hefted a bag, stumbling a half step at the surprising weight of the bag. Shima let out a whine about how Rin made the bags look easy to carry. Rin watched with irritation as Kamiki complained to the new girl, Sheimi, about how her bag was heavy and Sheimi eagerly took her classmates bag. Paku gave a nervous look to her best friend but said nothing as they made ready to leave.

Following Yukio into the park the ar seemed to get thicker. They crossed a series of 'Do Not Enter' caution tape lines before following a path into the heart of the park. Rin eyed the playground suspiciously as they walked by, several children's toys were strewn across the park, obviously deserted in a panicked evacuation. Yukio led his students into the heart of a large field surrounded on one side by a thin forest veined by wide looping trails. To the other side was a wall and another smaller playground clearly designed for toddlers and the like.

"We will be setting up camp here. Sheimi, Kamiki and Paku. You will set up the Protection Spell we will be using throughout the night. Everyone else please set yourself up in pairs and construct the sleeping tents." Yukio then set about helping the girls with instructions on setting up the circle. The protection would be extremely important so the tent building was left to the more able bodied.

Rin gratefully set down his bags and in surprise looked over as Shima collapsed under the weight of his bag. Konekomaru was carrying the rosettes travel bag and immediately was fawned over by the shave head childs care.

The demon suddenly felt very apathetic towards the two and instead set about opening his tent bag. Takara and Yamada were doing little to nothing to assist with the tent building, in fact the latter had ended up taking Suguros tent bag and using it as a chair. Thus leading to Suguro storming over with a very angry expression on his face and demanding he get up and help.  The demon watched with an odd sense of protection lingering  around Suguro as if he needed to be cautious of his friend being close to the weird kid int heir class. Yamada stood and shrugged off Suguros insults, From beneath the hood Rins blue eyes met violet. Offering a small smile to the human Rin eyed Yamada with disinterest and let his gaze land on Suguro once again.

"I cant believe those two are here, they do the bare minimum! How does this school have such prestige and such terrible attendants?" Suguro ranted a little more but his hands found themselves working open the tent and unfolding it.

Rin shrugged and felt his neck prickle with the feeling of being watched. It was unsettling but went away after a moment. The lack of feeling went away after a moment as he felt eyes on him again. Looking up he found himself staring at Suguro, the bleak lack of feeling was suddenly flooded with emotion, like the world went from grey to bursting with vivid colors.

The demon blushed slightly. "What?"

Suguro gestured to the opposite corner of the tent in a sort of dumb founded way. Rin realized that Suguro had probably been talking to him. "You gonna help put it up or what?"

Nodding the demon hopped around to the opposite side and as the poles were threaded through loops and secured the tent quickly took shape. Within a few minutes they were standing proudly before their creation. Giving it a couple gentle pats that shook the tent like a fierce wind Rin grinned. "Alright! Just, what? Four more to go?"

Sugruo gave a nod and the two moved to the next tent, setting them up in a small ring at the center of the circle the girls were drawing. Surprisingly as Rin and Suguro set up the next tent they found the other tents all but done. Takara and Yamada had been hassled by Yukio enough that they actually put together one of the flimsy fabric houses and Shima and Konekomaru had done two themselves. In the center of the camp Paku was struggling to make some food over a fire. Kamiki was ignoring her and Sheimi, who was flustered over the small amount of work she had done in the process of painting the circle.

This caught Rins attention. His nose twitched as he suddenly walked away from Suguro. The human eyed his friends but followed the demon towards the fire. Rin watched over Pakus shoulder as she messily chopped up some carrots and awkwardly stared at the recipe instructions.

A short clawed finger tapped her shoulder. Light brown eyes met blue and Rin smiled at her. It was meant to be friendly but the demon had no real care for this human and instead the expression came off a little strained. "Can I give it a shot?"

Paku nodded gratefully and slid away from the cooking area.

Rin's smile softened as he settled in her place. He didn't even glance at the recipe as he began slicing and dicing ingredients with such fine precision that it had Suguro wincing at every other chop.  Within a half hour the air steamed with a powerful mouthwatering aroma as Rin checked his work. The billowing steam raced towards the sky as he removed the lid to peek at the simmering stew. Somewhere among his classmates Rins hearing picked up the grumble of a hungry belly bringing a self-confident smirk to his face.

The demon beamed as the food was dished out. One by one the shocked and pleasured expressions of his classmates stroked the princes ego. Shima was by far the most vocal, nearly crying as he ate the stew. "You'd make a fine wife no matter who you marry."

Suguro shifted as Shima exclaimed this and that about Rins surprising cooking talent. Something that Rin did not miss. For some reason every sense he had was slowly becoming more and more attuned to the cockscombed male. Everything he did from the pace of the air he breathed to the subtlest flicker of eyes or the quickening or slow of his pulse and heart rate.

"Well I was the only one in the house who took interest in it." Rin blushed slightly and let his eyes linger on the fire. Everyone seemed so kind, his heard swelled with the realization that he had never had so many people around him. People he could just hang out with. That though forced to be in such a group because of their shared class, seemed to share a sort of camaraderie and friendship the demon had never felt before.

"It's really his only talent." Yukio chimed in. This brought a few chuckles from the crowd and Rin kept his smiling poker face on as his spirit dropped. Yukio couldn't just let him have this one positive in his life without adding in a negative. It really wasn't his fault he couldn't express himself. The sun was nearly set and the fire was stretching the shadows leading to their camp. Yukio stood in the middle of his meal at the notice of the suns coming absence and with a quick aria activated the circle.

The students ooh'ed and aah'ed as a soft yellow bubble blew up and encompassed their camp in a low dome shape. It was just in time too as not moments later the eerie squeak of a wheel came from the thickening darkness.

Their conversations went dead silent as pairs of eyes turned to find the source of the ominous rusty squeaking. A thunderous crash and a ripple across the shield had Sheimi and Paku screaming sharply. At one point in the shield an empty tricycle was snarling at them. The front wheel was split with hundreds of spokes for teeth, the handle bars were eyeless sockets and with its clawed pedals it scratched and bashed against the shield again and again.

A few more screams came from Sheimi as Yukio comforted the clearly spooked girl. Rin merely rolled his eyes at the low level demon. His eyes slitted and narrowed as he glared at the possessed children's toy. An echoing mental snarl that would have sounded like the crack of lightning to any demons nearby had the tricycle freeze in its tracks. Sockets fixed on Rins electric blue with a hint of fear.

_Leave. Now._

If bicycles had bladders the prince was sure that the tricycle would have wet itself as the wheeled demon immediately spun about face took off into the darkness.

Turning his attention cheerily back to his food Rin briefly met eyes with Suguros, the feeling of the humans suspicion of him was to be expected. The demon smiled slightly at the human but slipped another spoonful of chicken broth and veggies into his mouth to avoid saying anything.

Honestly the food was a great relief, they had been pulled for this trip before lunch had been served. Things like talking could wait until his belly was fully and happy. As the last bits were scraped and slurped Yukio began to explain how the next day would play out.

"You will be paired in these tents, it will be two to a tent except for the girls, you will share the largest tent. From these pairs you will also be sent out in the morning to exorcise the demons you find. You will work into the night tomorrow and the morning after we will be spending the day carving, painting or otherwise inscribing the seals to keep this park safe."

Suguro chased a pea around the bottom of his bowl glaring as it slipped from grasp once more.

"Takara and Yamada, Suguro and Shima, and lastly Konekomaru and Okumura ."

Suguro let the pea be and turned his full attention to Yukio. Sharp brown eyes bore into their young teachers head as Yukio continued to talk.

Explaining that they would only be catching a few hours of sleep before around one in the morning when demons would become most active and begin hunting. At that point they would be sent out to exorcise and otherwise chase off the demons in the park. After which they would return to sleep for an hour or eat breakfast if they so choose. By eight in the morning they would be heading back out to collect the toys that had once been possessed and inscribe seals on them to prevent them from being possessed for several years or until the seals were worn off.

Rin was nodding along only half listening to bis brother talk, he was more focused on watching Suguro out of his peripherals. The human had gone stiff and was glaring at Yukio. The demon watched as once Yukio was finished speaking Suguro immediately stood and moved to sit next to their teacher.

"Sensei, I was wondering if I could switch tents?" Suguro's intense eye contact was making Yukio uncomfortable, Rin could tell. "I am Rins Tutor and I was able to get him a retake of his test today and I would greatly appreciate if I could share a tent with him. He has a lot of work to do and I would like to-"

It was clear by Yukios starstruck expression that Suguro didn't need to say anything else. The mere idea that someone would be dedicated enough to teach Rin was a long forgotten dream of Yukios. It was no small task to teach Rin, Yukio knew very well that Rin had only the basic knowledge he had gained as a child and once Yukios classes started picking up Rin had immediately fallen behind. Yet here was this star student rising before him like the phoenix of his dreams to teach his insufferable brother.

"Oh well of course then!" Yukio nodded, suddenly seeing his top student in a new light. "Just let Shima and Rin know. Shima will share a tent with Konekomaru and Rin will switch to your tent."

The demons heart pounded and a blush tingled across his cheeks at the idea of Suguro sharing a tent with him.  He watched as Suguro stepped over to Shima who was avidly talking to the brick wall known as Kamiki and Paku. Shima shrugged off Suguros words and lilted towards Kamiki about her sharing a tent with him. It was unsurprising that Shima was decked in the face before he could finish his sentence. The prince merely chuckled to himself and hurried to finish eating, suddenly eager to show his tutor the amazing score he had received on his test.

It may have been nightime but perhaps this day was the best day of his life so far.


	9. Of Heroes and Horses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In search of a Beta!

With the meal having been finished and every delectable morsel scraped from the pot the class settled into an uneasy sort of quiet. Several of Rins classmates were muttering this and that about the sleeping arrangements and comfortableness of the mats they were given. Others were either studying up on the best arias to use and what kinds of weaknesses their more than less unknown opponents would have. There were still a few hours and the suns light had just now winked out of existence, the night bathed in darkness only lit by the blazing camp fire and the light shining down from the moon and stars.

At lest for the humans. Rin sighed softly cobalt eyes staring lazily up at the glittering sky. While the average person would have difficulty navigating this forest at the darkest times of night, Rin saw as easily as any other demon could if not better. His whole body was attuned to become one with the darkness fo night and it was no task at all to walk through some unknown forest with nothing but the stars to light his way.

A yawn stretched his mouth open in what most would consider a rude display if not covered, but no on was spaying attention and really the prince didn't care about it either. A slow blink was sent up towards the stars like the kiss of a cat and the stars twinkled in return. From here Rin easily spotted a couple constellations. Mainly the big and small dipper, however his eyes were lost in the wonder of the starlight.

The night flashed by before this closed eyes. No one had stirred him for what felt both like the longest time and no time at all. The sharp kick in his side however had rin rolling over and clutching his side groaning.

"Be glad i let you sleep through Senseis lecture." Was the curt reply. Suguro turned away and began unfolding his map, explaining what Yukio had assigned them to do.

The prince sat up and flipped open the bag, rifling through it.

"We've each been given a map of the park. Sensei assigned us the north east corner with the winding pathways. There shouldn't be a lot of activity there because not many children would play there. Not many toys or items to posses."

He picked out a small red firework and waved it around. Suguro could have sworn that the demons eyes had gone huge and nearly cat-like for a moment. "Still gave us the flare though." The stick sagged slightly as the firework was wagged one way and the other.

Suguro glared at Rin. "Yes for emergency purposes, just in case we run into something we cant handle. We also have a pack of matches each so don't break the flare."

The demon shrugged off the warning but put the flare back in his bag, careful of the food ration and water bottle. Among the many items were the given flare, matches, food and water then further inside were a small first-aid kid containing gauze, antiseptic wipes, a compass and map and lastly a flashlight. He stood once he had skimmed everything over shouldered his bag and bent to brush the grass and dirt-dust from his clothes.

"Alrighty well then lead the way." Rin grinned widely, He had to keep his tail from flipping about in his pants leg. Any sort of adventure through the dark was sure to be fun. It always had been so in Gehenna. Every demon knew exactly who he was and would either keep a wide berth or come in close to greet pleasantly and then depart. A sort of peace keeping tactic Rin had been told but he expected the demons of the park here to keep their distance since he had just short of screamed his presence to the whole of the forest during dinner.

Suguro grunted with a sideways glare, flicked his map to straighten it and began to lead the way.

RIn trotted along side Suguro's fast pace shoving his hands in his pockets. They exited the dome of yellow light with a quiet bloop and the area around their exit rippled brightly before fading back to its original state. Gravel crunched quietly beneath their boots and Rin found himself walking on auto pilot as his head tilted skyward. The sky was clear still though a few small thin clouds had encircled the moon.

Suguro glanced at the carefree demon and folded his map. Their path was pretty self explanatory and the darkness didn't help with his map reading. He grasped for something to make conversation but came up blank. Whatever they were supposed to be on alert for demonic activity anyways and conversation would just distract from their main objective.

"So peaceful huh? You wouldn't even think demons could be lurking on a warm summer night like this."

Rin however felt the need to fill the air between them with words. Suguro half wanted to snap at him for talking so loudly but took a meditative breath before responding through clenched teeth. "We've been taught to expect the unexpected. It was during our demon behavior studies remember? Or did you sleep through that class too? I forget."

The prince feigned hurt then grinned. "Maybe? Hehe."

"Such a slacker, cant believe you're even in these classes. A demon could attack at any moment, from in a crowd or a church or even out here in this very not peaceful and safe forest." His voice was getting louder and he knew it. But Suguro's ire was only rising as his partner crossed his arms behind his head and shrugged.

"You mean like right.. now?" Rin jumped at Suguro flicking his hands from behind his head and making clawing motions. His tail had sprung free from his pants as well and now stood straight up in the air the tip of it fluffing.

The human started and before Suguro could register it his fist had planted itself in the side of Rins face.

Rin yelled as he stumbled back holding the right side of his face. "Gah! What the hell man?"

"What the hell yourself!" Suguro was full blown yelling now. "We're on an important mission right now! You cant be serious for five fucking minutes?"

The demon had to withhold a snarl. "You cant lighten up for a second? You're such a stick in the mud I cant believe its not shoved up your ass!" His tail lashed back and forth nearly whipping the ground. "You've been a dick to me ever since I met you and I hadn't even known you yet."

Before Suguro could retort there was a bone chilling sound that interrupted their fight. A deep throaty growl and the crunch of gravel beneath wheels. It was definitely bigger than the little tricycle that had run into their defenses earlier. About the size of a small pony was a toy though it clearly wasn't anywhere near its original size. What used to have been a small plastic firetruck was now four feet tall, its grill was now a gnashing mess of glass and metal teeth. The wheels were large almost comically so, however the spikes on its rims and rubber took the humor out of the whole scenario. Its ladder had also morphed, the end was club-like but split open into a nasty smile of teeth and drool.

Suguro didn't even breathe, his eyes having gone wide at the sight of the possessed child's toy. All he could process was that it had a lot of teeth and was looking at the two of them without eyes.

Rin moved first, sidling towards Suguro. Being a prince of gehenna and eventual heir to the throne he had seen many demons far and wide. However none had looked at him like this. This demon reminded him of a rabid animal with no direction for its rage and power, simply put: insane.

The movement triggered a reaction faster than Suguro was ready for. The sutra was barely leaving his lips. Ass he could see were those massive spiked tires clawing at the earth as it plowed towards them, maw stretched wide and ladder arching above like a snake.

Once again Rin was the one who reacted, his arm swung forward with a force that shook the air. Blood sprayed as fist met metal, the crunching sound of knuckles breaking startled Suguro from his trance.

He breathed, the air sucked into his lungs and then forced back out. The chant left his mouth in moments however it was too late, the monster now lay several yards away a large dent in its front. The circular shield popped into existence in front of them and Rin clutched his mangled hand to his chest.

A dry laugh left his throat. "You couldn't have done that sooner?"

Suguro took a shaky breath, it hissed back out from between his teeth. "Don't think our argument is over."

Rin smirked, the bones of his hand popped as they fitted back into place and the tendons slithered together once more. "Fine we'll put a pin in it for now."

The possessed toy screeched as it maneuvered back onto its wheels. It seemed as though the toy radiated a pure evil aura as it started for them again. The face of the truck smashed against the shield however the tail whipped over it mouth open and saliva dripping. Suguro could have sworn his heart had stopped and his life had flashed before his eyes. That mouth was headed straight for him. Ready to snip his head from his shoulders.

The mouth was punched away and the ladder gave a metallic groan of protest. More blood splurt from Rins knuckles though they didn't break this time. Rin grabbed Suguros arm with his freshly healed hand and tugged. "Run?"

Their eyes met and Suguro for some reason only now noticed how blue Rins eyes were. Nearly glowing with an electric color in the moonlight. Then he noticed exactly how frenzied Rin was and nodded. "Run."

Rin led the way, nearly pulling the human along. He could hear Suguros shoes sliding on the loose dirt path but even more concerning he could hear the possessed toy chasing after them. Then, there were more. The squeaks of rusty wheels like those of a maltreated bicycle, the creaks of a spring rider from the play ground, and more toys noisily followed the two panicking students.

Pure adrenaline was fueling Suguro, he didn't feel as his shoes slid and scuffed the dirt, or how Rins nails had dug into his arm determined not to let go. However the pull of gravity was enough to bring the human down as his boots clipped a gnarled root hidden in the darkness. The scrapes that danced up his knees and elbows upon impact were mute, his brain not registering the pain. Rins claws had left a few light scratches in his wrist when he had slipped out of hand and a deep bruise would be sure to form from the pressure.

Suguro scrambled to his feet however Rin was already digging through his bag cursing. "I put the flare back in here! Why isn't it here? All I have are these fucking matches!"

Brown eyes fixed on the sword sheath on Rins back. "Your sword! you can use that right?"

Rin stiffened and a million thoughts passed through his mind. An excuse? How could he excuse not using it in their time of dire need? Visions of blue fire  and his classmates running, screaming in terror flashed behind his eyes and he shook his head. "Its not. I cant."

Suguro wanted to scream at him "Its a damn weapon. You were going for the knight miester right? Use it!"

Rin grit his teeth and threw down his backpack. "Its supposed to be a good luck charm, an heirloom. I have never swung a sword in my life!" clenching the matches in one hand he grabbed for Suguros bag.

The human took offense and shoved Rin back. "The hell are you saying? Its not even a sword then?"

Demons, four of them had now encircled the duo. Rin was fuming at Suguros reactions, his heart was racing and all he could hear was a quiet light ringing in his ears. The firetruck had caught up, and along their escape route they had attracted the attention of a nasty looking horse with a large spring protruding from its belly, a bicycle whose front tire opened to a ring of dagger-like spoke teeth, and the tricycle from earlier, though it looked like a fairer better fight than the others did.

Things moved in slow motion for the prince. Even his heart beat had dulled to a slow deep thump. The horse lunged first, its forelegs having formed into two massive nail-like spikes and its mouth opened like a dogs only filled to the brim with jagged teeth. Rin lunged and shoved Suguro out of the way. He didn't feel a thing as a spike slid through his thigh then into the ground, or when the horse bit down, its mouth encompassing half of his torso and his entire left shoulder.

Suguro was shocked an hit the ground with a grunt. The horse seemed stunned as well and there was a brief moment where the horse went still its eyes wide and trembling. The other demons froze as well as though some telepathic message had spread between them. He used this moment to his advantage and dug through his backpack. The stick had snapped but the flare itself was still intact. lighting a match and igniting the small firework he pointed it towards the sky.

The quiet fizzt of the incendiary taking off was unnoticed by the demons but the explosion took their attention. Moments after the signal, four gunshots took their lives. Suguro stood and looked at the blood splattered Rin. He was standing, just barely and took no notice of the gunshots nor their teacher as Yukio came running guns brandished and quickly being holstered as he reached for his brother.

Things seemed to blur together, when Suguro clocked back in they were sat around the fire back at camp. Rin was sat on the ground leaning against a log they had been using as a seat earlier. His shirt was replaced but bunched around one shoulder, Suguro spotted thick bandages around his torso his eyes seemed distant as he stared into the crackling fire.

"Oh, you're back in are you?"

Suguro blinked, Rin was looking at him and now that he could see the other side of the demons face he noticed that there was another bandage on his cheek. "Back in?" He parroted.

Rin nodded, "You kind of blanked out when we were cornered. Had me worried."

He scoffed, "I had you worried?" Suguro made another noise and glared at Rin. "Whats wrong with you? Why would you do that for me?"

The demon rolled his eyes. "Well you wouldn't have lived firstly. And second we have yet to finish our argument about your bad attitude. So I kind of wanted you to stick around."

Suguro rubbed his face. "We can finish that in the morning. Right now I just need to sleep."

Rin tsk'd at the human as he made to stand. "We're not supposed to sleep for a while, Yukio was worried we may have got concussions from all the bumps we took."

Suguro rolled his eyes. "You'd only get a concussion if you had a brain in there. I know I'm fine so I'm heading to bed." He glanced around. "Where is sensei anyways?"

Rin gestured to the forest south of them. "Another flare went off. Apparently this mission is too high level for us right now. "We'll be leaving in the morning."

The human nodded and stood up dusting the dirt and leaves from his pants. Rin hobbled to his feet and Suguro noticed the fat bandage around his upper thigh, a blood spot having leaked through though it was small. "Help me to our tent?"

Suguro nodded, feeling awkward as he wrapped an arm around Rins back. Being careful of the bandages on his torso and hooked a finger through a belt loop for extra grip on the demons body. Once inside their shared space Rin flopped down onto his foam mat. Suguro flinched, he could tell it had hurt a little. Minding himself he rubbed the bandages that were wrapped around his knees and elbows, the only injuries he had sustained in that whole adventure.

"Yukio wants to talk to you though, swear you into secrecy about me being a demon and all that."

He jumped a little, not having expected Rin to say anything more for the night. "Why is it such a hassle? There are plenty of exorcists with demon blood in them?"

Rin shrugged, "Well I guess its all about the percentage, besides those people have it from their ancestors, not a half and half mix you know? Its different."

Suguro sighed, "Whatever. I think this whole secrecy deal is overkill."

The demon nodded and grinned, "Really though." Rin suddenly sat up and pulled off his shirt, picking at the bandages around his torso. "I'll never be able to sleep with this crap stuck to me."

"Hey don't pick those off! Sensei worked hard to bandage you up earlier." Suguro snapped at the demon, he reached to stop Rin from removing the bulk but was shocked as it came off. Where he had expected to see the stitches and holes Yukio had patched was nothing but smooth skin and a few threads that Rin brushed off.

"Its overkill." Rin smiled at Suguro and after picking the bandage from around his thigh flopped back down, his shirt and bandages all shoved together in a pile int he corner.

Suguro huffed and laid down as well. He wasn't even going to ask about it, self healing was just one of the many perks of being demon blood wasn't it? He couldn't stop his brain from shutting down. Lying horizontally really seemed to kick in his need for sleep. A sigh of relief left him as he settled into the safe inky darkness behind his eyelids.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My deepest apologies for this very late chapter. Its a pretty eventful one though so I hope that makes up for it. More to come soon(ish)!
> 
> https://sta.sh/0plo4pn2mm9
> 
> A meme made by mua. Ps not entirely sure how to make memes.


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